


The Color Silver

by Kagame



Series: The Color Silver [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst and Humor, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, Good Uchiha Sasuke, Ideas from Claymore and JoJo, M/M, Maybe other stuff too, Psychological Trauma, Rating May Change, Red-Haired Uzumaki Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2019-05-13 17:44:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 42
Words: 94,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14753426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kagame/pseuds/Kagame
Summary: Kagame wants to be a shinobi of the leaf. He doesn't have any grandiose goal or dream in particular, he's just lost. His whole clan and purpose are gone, leaving him alone in a world he's just trying to fit into. More than anything, he wants to be a human being and maybe help a few people along the way.





	1. Journey to the leaf

There were so many smells in the air. They were all familiar, but they were still unpleasant. Smoke, fire… blood. Screams of rage filled the air along with the clash of metal, breaking bones, slicing flesh and the much quieter, but far worse drip, drip, drip of blood. It was getting farther and farther away, as a women I recognized but didn’t truly know carried me further away. She was as familiar as all the others, hair the palest shade of blonde, smooth face, alabaster skin, strong, toned muscles, thin lips set in a grim line, eyes that were cold and unfeeling, eyes that were only like mine in color. The color silver.

 

It was only after hours of travel that she finally spoke, her voice was strong and unrelenting. “You can’t begin to understand what’s going on child. You’ve only just passed our clans initiation. Know that we are not like other people, because we are not human beings. We are little more than the beasts that we have hunted for countless years. The only difference is our minds are still intact. But there will be no more beasts to hunt, and so there will be no more reason for us to exist. There are others who believe different, that we can force our purpose onto this world indefinitely. They have lost sight of why were created in the first place. This is the desired end result, a world that does not know the threat of Yoma, where the humans do not live in fear of being devoured in the night.” She tilted her head down, eyes meeting mine as trees and mountains continued to race by. She spoke again, softly this time, her words weighed heavy by years of pain, “A world where our sisters are no longer slaughtered one after another. Our suffering can finally end. But they don’t see that, they have forgotten what it was to feel human. Their memories of such a time... are blurred and buried by inhuman bodies. When the fighting is done, there will be no one left.” I had never heard words like that come from any of the warriors. They had only spoken of our clans great and vital purpose, of their feats in battle, their greatest triumphs against the Yoma.

Her lips shifted just the smallest bit, lifting into what could almost be called a grin. “But you have fresh human memories, you can be more than a simple hunter, you can build a true life for yourself with comrades to share in your joys and sorrows. Our clan is dying from the inside. But I will not allow our fate to be yours as well, you shouldn’t have to pay for our hubris. Remember the rules laid out by your handler, if you wish for even a sliver of our clan to survive, know that it must be through you, as a human being.”

 

I didn’t like the boat. It was damp and cold below the deck, and it smelled like old, rotting fish. It reminded me of my first days amongst my clan, _they kept us locked up underground in dark cells of metal and stone. The only comfort the twisted bodies of the other children. We huddled together for warmth, we cried our silent tears into each other’s shirts. Our bones growing and shifting under skin pulled too tight against our small bodies. The hot malicious aura of our yoki writhing and bubbling, threatening to spill over, to split our bodies open._ I released my hold on my arms, blood running from where my nails had dug into my flesh. My breathing loud and labored. It was done, I had passed, I was good enough and... it didn’t matter anymore. I fought to control my breathing, to keep from being heard by those on top. I can’t get caught now, I won’t survive if they throw me off. I need to make it to land. As the boat continued it’s nauseating rhythm, I tried not to think about how the smell was like the _failures_ rotting back in the cells. _There won’t be anyone to clean out the old ones anymore._ I shut my eyes tight, keeping my breathing quiet, waiting until it was over and I could see the sun. _I never saw such a brilliant blue before and the giant light was too much for my sensitive eyes. It cast it’s radiant light across everything, touching everything underneath the sky. Warmth seeping into my skin. I shed more tears, knowing the others wouldn’t get to see it, wouldn’t get to feel it._

 

**_They don’t matter, they aren’t anything. We have no use for them, they can not even survive under the weight of their own power. You will fight and bleed and even die if our clan demands it, as long as you remain useful, as long as you can stand under the weight of your strength, of our clans strength, you will be known as a warrior. But if you falter, if you succumb to the beast within, you will be another failure just as they were, and I will not hesitate to strike you down._ **

 

I felt the sting of tears escaping for the first time since that day, _if our clan is dead, then what will I become, I can not call myself a warrior, I had never even killed a Yoma. I’ve only just learned what it is to use yoki. How do I be a human being? Is it just by crying, or is it from the feeling of crying? Is it something else, something more than just doing or feeling?_

 

 _Will the sky look the same in the land of fire? What do the people there do, where do they live, what do they eat?_ A million thoughts swirled through my head on the fourth day on the boat. I’d only ever known the members of my clan, I’d only ever seen a few normal humans before. _Would they look the same as us?_ But I didn’t look like them, _my hair is the wrong color, brown not blonde or the occasional gray_.

 

On the eighth day the boat stopped in the land of hot water, and I was finally able to breath fresh air. The sky still looked the same blue as when I left. I quickly ran off  before anyone could see me, _I don’t need to get in trouble when I’ve just arrived, I’m not even in the land of fire yet._

After a few hours of walking I came to a stop. Night had fallen and I had no intention of getting lost in the dark, _I need to keep heading west if I want to get out of the land of hot water, but I can’t do that if I don’t know which way I’m going._ I had decided to stay in a nearby cave that night, but when I entered I found that it wasn’t as empty as I had thought. Inside was an elderly woman wearing clothing that could only be described as old rags. _Though I suppose I don’t look much better after more than a week without bathing, not to mention the stench of dead fish._

“It’s been quite some time since I’ve had any visitors, what brings you here young one?” Her voice was surprisingly kind, though a bit nasally.

“I’m on my way to the land of fire, I was told they take in refugees. I… need a new home. And I promised my sister I’d make it there.”

The old woman appeared to consider my words, almost as if she were trying to decide something. “The land of fire certainly has its benefits, but it has also been part of many wars in the not too distant past. Surely your sister would prefer you stay in a more comfortable place. Yugakure is to the north west. They call it the village which has forgotten wars. They happen to be quite wealthy as well, I’d imagine you would have a much safer, more comfortable life if you went there.”

“Umm. I guess... I wouldn’t really know, I’m not from anywhere near here. But… something seemed a little off about the people I saw on the way here. I don’t really know what it was, but they don’t look the same as you, not just _physically_ , but...”

She let out a harsh bark of laughter at my comment. “I would think so, but I’m surprised your so perceptive. You're right when you say that, the people of this land may have forgotten war, but not without a price.”

“What kind of price?” _Is it like the price we pay for yoki?_

Her face took on a more serious light as she spoke. “It was by staying silent in the face of evil. The stood by at critical times, when there were those who desperately needed help, and they did nothing. Even when those in need were from their own village.”

“Is that why you live out here alone? Because they didn’t help you when you needed it?”

She shook her head. “No, it was not me who they failed, but there are days where I wish it was. I lost someone very precious to me, and it left a hole in my heart that hasn’t filled since.” Her eyes were filled with sorrow, glistening in the pale light filtering in from the cave’s maw. “Whether your sister knows it or not, she made the right decision sending you to the land of fire. It may not be the most ideal place to live, but such a place doesn’t exist without some sacrifice. It is true that you will accepted there as a refugee, but they’ll want something in return. Are you prepared to pay for that?”

“I can’t say that I have any other choice. What kind of price is it?”

“Those who are accepted are required either to submit themselves as laborers or shinobi of Konohagakure.”

“Shinobi? I haven’t heard that word before, and I don’t know where… _Leaf Town?_ \- is.”

Her expression was one of confusion, surprise, and laughter. “Well you’re just full of surprises aren’t you?” My face flushed in embarrassment as she continued to speak. “Konohagakure, _or the village hidden in the leaves_ , is the heart of the land of fire’s military. It is a village where young men and women are trained to become highly skilled warriors called shinobi.”

 _Warriors! Is that why she wanted me to go there, to finish my training? No... wait... that doesn’t make sense, she said it herself that there aren’t any Yoma left._ I frowned in confusion, unsure of what my sister had wanted of me.

“What’s the matter, getting cold feet?”

My head snapped up in attention. “No, no that’s not it at all. Just… what do shinobi do? What does it mean to be one?”

“Such interesting questions, you really are a strange one. But don’t think bad of it, different perspectives can be quite useful. As for the answer, well I suppose it’s different for everyone. They do all sorts of jobs, depending on the client that pays them. It could be something as mundane as weeding a garden to as dangerous as killing a feudal lord. But I hear in Konoha, to be a shinobi is to fight to protect the people who cannot fight for themselves.”

**_The reason we exist, is to protect those who cannot defend themselves. We are the thin line separating them from the overpowering force of the Yoma._ **

My eyes widened in amazement. _This is it, this is why she wanted me to go, because our purpose can still exist there, at least... in some form._ “That’s what I want to do! I want to help people!”

Her eyes lit up just a fraction. “It’s nice to see such kindness in the young. Tell me your name young man.”

I was startled by her request. _A name?_ **_You are one of the few who passed induction, from here on out you will be known as Akugin #78._ ** “I don’t really have a name.” I looked down, feeling somehow ashamed by the fact. _It’s not like I can tell her what they called me, what we called each other. It was only those who had proven themselves as warriors who had received true names._

“Well that won’t do, a boy like you deserves to have a name.” I looked up surprised once more by the woman in front of me. “How about Kagami. It’s a lovely name that I think would suit you quite well. As for a surname, why not take some time to decide yourself, you’ll have plenty of time to consider on your journey west.” She wrote the name in the dirt for me to see as she spoke. 'Kagame.'

I tested the name in my mouth as I memorized the spelling, “Kagame… Kagame… It sounds nice. Thank you, umm… can I ask what your name is?”

She burst out laughing at that. “I’m nobody, just a hermit tired of living in villages. The name I once held is of little importance now. The person I was then isn’t who I am now. So the name just doesn’t fit anymore.”

“Oh… okay.”  _But that doesn't really answer my question._

Her eyes met mine for a minute, she seemed to decide something in that moment. “Before you leave, let me teach you something. You might find it useful later on.” She held out her left hand expectantly, I lifted my own hesitantly before taking it. I felt a sharp pain as spectral vines burst out of her hand and stabbed into my own. Despite the pain I held my grip. Then as soon as they appeared, the vines vanished, they didn’t retreat back into her hand, they just _vanished into thin air_. My eyes widened in surprise as I let out a gasp.

“I call it hermit purple. I use it for divination of my surroundings and to grab things out of my reach.” As she spoke she had pulled out a pouch and dumped a handful of salt on the ground. “Watch carefully now.” She stuck two fingers into the salt pile as the vines reappeared, I was awestruck as the salt dispersed and formed a map. “Here’s the land of hot water where we are, and over here is Konoha, where you’re going.”

“That was amazing! How did you do that?”

“It took years of training to develop this technique, but well, I’ve had a lot of time to make it. When you learn how to manipulate chakra, you’ll figure it out too.”

“Chakra?”

She started laughing again, _I’m getting the feeling that there’s a lot I’m missing here._ “You don’t have to worry about that now. They’ll teach you all about it in Konoha, it’s something that all children working to be shinobi learn.”

 

I ended up spending the night watching the strange woman use her vines to grab rocks and sticks from far away and throw them around just by moving her arms. It was so fascinating, _if all I need is this chakra thing to do this, then the kids in Konoha better watch out, I’ll be a shinobi in no time_. When I woke up in the morning, she was gone. _I don’t think I’ll get to see her again, but_ -I looked down at my hand, knowing it was different than before, _that I was different_ \- _I can’t ever thank her enough for all this._

 

After two weeks of travel I finally reached the gates of Konoha. I was surprised by the number of trees in the land of fire. _It should be called the land of trees as I haven't seen any fire since I've arrived here. But at least the village is named right._ The walls surrounding the village were huge, the buildings inside were… _well I guess I don’t have much to compare them to_. They looked well built, and they’re probably nicer than any of the caves or tree roots I’ve been sleeping in. _And they can’t possibly be worse than the underground cages._ And the sky's still blue. The men at the gate were nice enough, even if they made sour faces when they saw me. _It probably didn’t help that the only cleaning up I’ve done was wading through a nearby river. I still can’t shake the smell of dead fish from the boat._ One of them even walked with me to this really tall building under a mountain that had faces on it. He talked to a lady at the desk on the first floor and then told me to walk to the top floor, “But don’t go any further, we don’t want you getting locked out on the roof.”

When I got to the top floor -but not the roof- there was a man with a mask on waiting in front of a set of double doors. He stood in a way that only someone who has killed countless times before could. His voice was just like my sisters, cold and unfeeling, “Lord Hokage will see you now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You shouldn't learn how to spell from hermits in strange caves. They'll teach you wrong. It's supposed to be Kagami (Mirror), not Kagame (Crooked). But he'll pronounce it as mi anyway.


	2. Academy and Fledgling Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagame enters the academy and makes his first friend.

_The academy is… boring. But, if it were a choice between this and the cages… well I know which I would pick. At least I’m doing something here._

_Chakra is… interesting. It’s a lot like yoki, I think. Or at least it feels kinda like it. But, better. Less, murder feeling. And it doesn’t hurt either. It took a few weeks before I got it, but we’re only learning chakra theory right now anyway. There aren’t too many people who can do anything with it yet, except for the shinobi clan kids. They seem… nice. They’re certainly lively._ I glanced towards the brooding dark haired kid, Sasuke, and the kid who’s always buzzing, Shino. Then towards the kid who’s always asleep in class, Shikamaru. _Well… I guess not all of them._

A certain red haired kid was at the front of the class making a fool out of himself though, _again_. He was arguing with Iruka sensei over how none of this matters. “I’m gonna be Hokage someday, believe it! And it won’t be from all this boring book stuff!” _What’s with this kid, why is he always getting himself in trouble? I guess I should be grateful though, they’re all too busy hating him to even pay attention to me._

The first few days in the academy were awkward, everyone was staring at me because they’d never seen anyone from outside the village before. But soon enough they seemed to forget about me and return to their normal routines. None of them sit next to me though. _Not like I care, this is still better than home. Urrr, no, I have to think of this as my home now. I am a citizen of Konoha now._

 

The days pass pretty quickly. I arrive at the academy at 8:00 every morning, then we start class for three hours. After class we he have spars from 11:00 to 12:00. All the girls fawn over Sasuke and gloat about how great he is. _Though he does seem to always win. Apparently it’s because he’s from a special clan, the Uchiha._ The red haired kid always seems to lose no matter who he’s paired up against. _His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He has a ton of stamina, but it doesn’t mean much with how quickly he loses. His stance is terrible, his form is all wrong. If he could at least focus on dodging, he would be able to wear his opponents down, and then he MIGHT have a chance at winning. At least against the civilian kids._ But none of the instructors try to help him except Iruka sensei. _But he’s busy with like thirty other kids_.

After spars we have half an hour for lunch. None of the kids seem to notice I’m not there. _I don’t need to eat very often though, so why bother with lunch every day. Besides, I’d rather eat alone anyway._

Then at 12:30 we start shuriken practice. _I hate shuriken practice._ It took me forever just to learn how to hold them without cutting myself. _It’s a good thing I heal fast or my fingers would look like they belong to a mummy._ I still can’t throw them at all though, it’s the one area where Naruto actually does better than me, _but not by much_. He has really bad aim. _And it’s no surprise the Uchiha prodigy is best in class here too._

Then at 2:00 we go back to class until 4:00 and we’re allowed to leave for the day. Naruto and some of the other trouble makers have to stay late a lot though. It’s a special punishment called detention. _I don’t think I’d really call it punishment though, it’s just more boredom. No one even gets hurt or anything._ Sasuke stays late too, but not for detention, he does more shuriken practice. _I guess he likes it._

All the kids in my class walk home with their parents or siblings. I walk home to my apartment by myself. _I don’t care though, it’s not like it matters._ It’s nice at home, nicer than anywhere I’ve ever lived before. _Wow! Nicer than a cage, or a cave, or outside!!! Who would have ever guessed._ The Hokage visited once, he said it was very plain looking. I’m not really sure what he meant though. It has everything in it that was here when I moved in. My favorite part of it is the table where I read and occasionally eat dinner. There was a lot of material I had to catch up on since I got here in the middle of the school year, but it isn't going to take too long to get through. I have lots of time after I get home. I also really enjoy my bed. _It’s the most comfortable thing I’ve ever slept on. I wonder if Shikamaru has a bed, if he knew how soft they were I don’t think he would ever sleep in class again._

 

It’s been a year since I’ve arrived in Konoha now. Apparently Shikamaru does have a bed, he just likes sleeping a lot. Not much has changed, except we started applying chakra theory. Naruto tried to use the transformation jutsu to turn into the Hokage. I couldn't help but snicker at his poor attempt.  _He looks so stupid!_ He had a big potato nose, his eyes were two different colors, and he was still a good foot and a half shorter than Iruka sensei. The clan kids did a lot better in their attempts, but no one really looked convincing. My own transformation must have been bad too, because while I was the same height as Iruka sensei, the other kids were laughing at me. As for substitution and clone jutsu, I can use substitution really well. _Iruka-sensei even praised me for it_. It made me feel... _good? Though I'm not really sure why._  But the clone jutsu eludes me entirely. We still have a few years left though, so I’m not really worried about, but even a failed attempt at it left me feeling drained. Iruka-sensei says it's because I'm still young, _and not from a shinobi clan_ , so my chakra reserves aren't very big yet. 

I’ve been getting really good at using hermit purple though. I practice every day after the academy lets out, but I always do it in private. I don’t want anyone to know what I can do yet. Though it’s not exactly impressive right now. And it’s certainly not as showy as Sasuke’s grand fireball. But, I doubt he realizes what a poor technique that is. _Just wait until he has to use it in a fight, the smell of burning flesh will be enough to put him off of it for life._ I doubt he noticed me watching him practice by the pond. _No one ever seems to notice when I’m nearby_. It makes information gathering pretty easy, so I think I’ll be a pretty good shinobi, especially with hermit purple to guide my path.

 

I’ve noticed recently an increase in bugs, and not normal bugs either. They act differently, they crawl into places they won’t be seen and just sit there, and they’re always close to people who are talking. But the weirdest part is that I saw one crawl out from Shino’s collar. He wasn’t phased by it at all either, and his smell changed recently, it’s sweet like sugar and flowers, kind of like Ino. _But he definitely hasn’t been spending time with Ino, or even going to Yamanaka Flower’s, so why does he smell like that?_ So I decided to ask the only person I think would have noticed. “Hey Shikamaru, what’s up that Shino kid? What can you tell me about him?”

Shikamaru lifted his head up from his desk, yawning and blinking the sleep from his eyes. “Why do you care?”

I felt my face flush, “Ughhh, well, I mean… He has something to do with the bugs right?”

He looked a little surprised by my question, and to my astonishment, didn’t go back to his nap. “Yeah, he’s from the Aburame clan. My dad says they all use bugs for their specialty jutsus.”

“Oh, like the Uchiha’s grand fireball.”

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at that. “Yeah kinda, except _even you_ could learn that jutsu. The Aburame are the only ones who can use bugs like that.” 

I decided to ignore his slight against me, hoping to learn more. It's not rare that anything can keep Shikamaru's attention and I didn't want to lose any opportunity for future interactions. “So what is he doing with them? Is it just practice for later?”

Shikamaru placed his head in his arms before answering in a muffled voice, “Who knows with that kid.” 

 

I spent the rest of the week asking Shikamaru about the other kids during lunch break.

The Inuzuka partner with dogs and have great sense of smell. They usually specialize in tracking enemy shinobi. _With my sense of smell and hermit purple I could do that too I bet._

The Uchiha have special eyes to copy enemy jutsu and cast genjutsu just from looking at someone. They run the villages military police, which enforces laws and punishes criminals. _So that’s probably why Sasuke always wins in sparring practice. When he joins the police he won’t be able to use weapons and fancy jutsu on civilians, so that only leaves taijutsu._

The quiet girl Hinata, is from the Hyuga clan. Their eyes can apparently see really far away and through solid objects like walls and people. _And here I thought she was blind._

His best friend Choji’s family used a jutsu to expand their bodies, which reminded me a little too much of my own family. **_Her name was Undine, she had freakishly huge muscles, her arms as big around as her own head. Her legs thick like tree trunks. All of her veins bulged out in order to provide oxygen for her giant mass_** _._ ** _She swaggered around wielding two massive swords as though it were nothing._** I sweat dropped just thinking of an entire family like that.

Ino’s family didn’t just run the flower shop, but they could takeover a person’s body and read their minds. _She’s someone I need to watch out for then, she could prove dangerous. Here I thought she was nothing more than a bossy brat and Sasuke’s number one fangirl, I won’t make the mistake of underestimating her again._

The Yamanaka and Akimichi families along with Shikamaru’s, who used shadows to control a person's movements, had an alliance of some kind. Apparently it was instrumental in building Konoha’s trade routes during the founding and they continued to work together afterwards, using their signature jutsus in tandem. “So then you three will probably be on the same team as genin then right?”

Shikamaru let out a long, exasperated sigh. “Unfortunately, you’re probably right. It’s what our dad’s did afterall. It’s such a drag. Ino thinks she can boss us around all the time and she’s always complaining and fawning over Sasuke and makeup. I wouldn’t mind being on a team with Choji, but **_HER_** , well I’d rather be stuck with Naruto.”

“Speaking of Naruto, what’s his deal? I get that he’s always loud and causing trouble, but people seem to really hate him. Is it because he’s not from Konoha?”

Shikamaru looked shocked, _had I said something I shouldn’t have?_ “No, I’m pretty sure he was born here. Why would you think that?”

“Oh, well… no one really looks like him. He has those whisker marks on his face- like how some of the clans have special markings- and he has red hair.”

He scrunched up his face in contemplation. “I never really thought of it like that. I guess… that kind of makes sense. He’s annoying, but I don’t think there’s any reason to really hate him like they all do… Do people treat you like that?”

“No, but I’m not really noticeable like him. Other than my eyes I don’t have any notable features that make me look like an outsider. Plus, no one seems to really notice me anyway, but I don’t really like the attention like he seems to. I think, for him, he’d rather people yell at him than just ignore him all together.”

Shikamaru seemed to contemplate my words as he turned to look at Naruto, sitting alone on the swing, far away from everyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter wasn't too boring for you guys. It might seem like a bit of an info dump, but I felt like everything included was important, especially for Kagame to get a better understanding on the other characters and maybe get some insight into what kind of person he is. Or at least how he thinks.


	3. A Massacre and an Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagame sees a tragedy and then gets invited to do normal kid stuff.

The seasons had begun to change. It was getting dark earlier and the air was cool. I was totally caught up in my reading at the academy, but I wasn’t really getting anywhere with my training in ninjutsu. I had gone to Iruka sensei about it and he suggested improving my stamina might help bolster my chakra reserves. I took his advice to heart and decided to do laps through the village. So far I couldn’t even finish one, but I guess I am just seven. I had gotten about halfway around the village when I got tired. So I decided to slow my pace and begin the walk home. As I neared the Uchiha district I caught something in the air, _I can smell… blood. It’s human, and there’s a lot of it._ I followed the scent until I passed through a strange barrier. It felt like walking through syrup. It was then that I saw the bodies littering the ground, crimson pooling around large gashes inflicted by some kind of blade. I followed the trail of destruction until I got to the center of the compound. It was there that I found Sasuke lying on the ground, I rushed over to him and began checking him for the same injuries that cut down his family, only to find none. He was covered in sweat and making noises of discomfort, his eyes were unfocused, moving back and forth rapidly. He was caught in a genjutsu. _There’s nothing I can do for him._ I hauled him up, putting one arm around my shoulder and began carrying him out. It was slow and he was heavy.

 _I can’t do this, I need to use my yoki._ It’s been months since I’ve had to use it, I had been dreading the day since I learned how much better chakra felt. I called it up into my arms and legs, feeling the familiar burning sensation as my veins and muscles inflated. I began moving much faster, _I need to get out of here now, before whoever did this notices I’m here. And before I start to lose control._ My senses were sharpening, my vision focusing, seeing farther and in more detail. My nose twitched as the smell of blood became more potent, the metallic scent turning **_pleasant_** , saliva collecting in the back of my mouth. The whole place was becoming more unsettling, it was totally silent, the only sound my own footsteps and the increasing volume of my heart. As I exited the district and felt the barrier was gone, I knew whoever had killed the Uchiha had already left. I set Sasuke down and focused all my yoki into the pit of my stomach before letting it dissipate. My arms and legs felt like jelly as I plopped down on the road panting. It was only a few moments later that a group of masked shinobi descended on the Uchiha district.

 

“Can you tell me what happened yesterday, Kagame?” After spending hours alone here in this gray box of a room someone had finally entered and sat across the table from me. He was tall, angry looking with scars across his face, and had a deep, gravelly voice.

Despite how nervous I was, I knew that things would end much quicker if I answered his questions. I relaxed my face, lips setting into a thin line, slipping into the same blank mask that my sisters had always worn. “I entered the Uchiha district to find a large number of corpses, all of which belonged to the Uchiha. I also came across an unconscious Sasuke Uchiha and delivered him to the entrance of the district where we encountered the masked shinobi.” I recited the answer perfectly, keeping any kind of emotion out of my response.

“They’re called Anbu, and they’re the Hokage’s most talented agents. I’m surprised you haven’t been taught that in the academy yet. So tell me, why were you at the Uchiha district that night.”

“I had been walking home, when I caught the scent of blood. The Uchiha district had seemed normal from the outside, but once I had entered I had discovered there was a genjutsu barrier surrounding the whole district.” He wrote something down on the clipboard he was carrying.

“Why had you been out so late? The academy lets out at 4:00 and yet you were discovered at the Uchiha district around 7:00.” His gaze was piercing, looking for the slightest twitch of muscle. I had almost forgotten what this kind of suffocating attention felt like. _The same kind of scrutinizing look they would give us whenever we were let out of the cages for assessment._

“Under recommendation from Iruka sensei, I’ve begun stamina training by trying to run the perimeter of the village. I had only gotten halfway around when I became too tired to continue running and was forced to walk.”

“And did you see who had committed the murders that night?”

“No I did not, but based on the evidence, I think it was a genjutsu specialist. One who wields a sword, judging by the wounds on the corpses.”

“No more questions”

 

When I was finally released it was past midday. I had been told that due to the events of last night, there would be no academy classes today. One of the shinobi from the building I was in was sent with me to ensure I made it home. She had black hair and red eyes. She made me feel safe, maybe from some special power, or because she looked different from everyone else, _just like me_. She seemed nice enough, making small talk to fill the silence and asking about my classes. She left as soon as I reached my door, disappearing in a whorl of leaves.

I collapsed into my bed, _I don’t care if it’s only 1:00, I haven’t slept in so long._ As I drifted off into the bliss of soft pillows and warm sheets I spared one last thought, _I hope Sasuke will be alright._

 

Classes resumed a few days later, the other kids didn’t seem to notice anything, too wrapped up in their own worlds to see that the military police had all disappeared overnight. Or that there were less dark heads of hair in the halls and streets. The only one they noticed was gone was Sasuke. The girls were all whining about how they missed him and how boring class would be without him today. I felt a pit of worry in my stomach, _he might not come back for awhile._

At lunch Shikamaru spoke up, “So you know why he’s gone don’t you.”

I looked up surprised, _how did he do that? Am I that obvious?_ “Well, before I say anything, what do you know about it?”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Not much, my old man won’t tell me anything, but he’s been out a lot later the last few days and I know he’s hiding something. His smile is totally phony.”

I leaned in close after I made sure no one would overhear, and whispered, “Someone killed all the Uchiha a few days ago, the only one left is Sasuke, I think. But don’t tell anyone, I’m no sure if I’m supposed to say anything.” _I mean, no one told me I couldn't say anything._

Choji quirked an eyebrow at me. “Well you just told us, didn’t you?”

_Well, he’s got me there._

 

**Shikamaru pov**

“How’s that even possible, the Uchiha are massive and they’re one of the strongest clans in Konoha."

“Well it’s not like I know how. All I can tell you is what I saw, and that was a lot of dead Uchiha.” Kagame replied.

 _This just doesn’t add up. How does an entire clan, a clan with a powerful Kekkei Genkai, die out in a single night? Within the village walls, without anyone talking about it the next day. The only person here who seems to know anything is Kagame._ “You said you saw them.”

“I was walking by the Uchiha district the night it happened. Everyone was already dead by the time I was there.”

 _So it was just pure coincidence then._ “Kagame, are you doing anything this weekend?”

He looked mildly confused at the change in topic, clearly not expecting me to just have dropped the subject of an unheard of incident. “No, not really. Why do you ask?” His tone cautious, eyes wary.

“My old man’s having a clan meeting with Choji and Ino’s dads. Why don’t you come over, we always have a sleepover afterwards, so you can stay the night.”

Choji quickly joined in, speaking excitedly, “My family always makes the best food for these things, you have to come. I promise you haven’t eaten until you’ve had my mom’s cooking.”

“Plus Ino’s gonna be there and she’s such a killjoy. You can’t leave us all alone with her, it’d be such a drag.” _I can tell we’re starting to wear him down, it won’t be long until he caves_.

“Oh, and she’s bringing a friend too, the girl who has pink hair. If we don’t wanna get bossed around, we need another person. Adults always side with the girls when there’s a tie.”

“Do I need to bring anything?” _Got him._


	4. Sleepovers and Hair Clips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nice fun trip to the Nara household.

The Nara household was much bigger than my apartment. _I didn’t know people lived in buildings like this._ Everything was so much nicer looking. The walls were a vibrant shade of yellow rather than grey, the paint wasn't chipping, and there were pictures hung up everywhere. There was so much more furniture than my own home, even if a lot of it was just decorative _. I guess that was what the Hokage meant about my home looking plain. I can’t even imagine what kind of place he must live in._

Shikamaru led us through the walkway to a large dining room with cushions around a low table. Most of the adults were already present, sitting down on the cushions. _T_ _hey don’t use chairs here?_ Shikamaru and Choji quickly sat down together in between their respective fathers. Ino sat next to her own father with Sakura following close behind.

 

** Shikaku pov **

The kids entered the dining room shortly after Shikamaru had called out, “I’m home”. He sounded more chipper than usual. _It's been awhile since he was excited about much of anything_. I was further surprised when a fifth kid entered the room with him. I didn’t recognize them as any of the children from Konoha’s clans. She had shoulder length brown hair, pale skin, thin lips, and eyes like the moon being sucked into a dark void from the inside out. “I don’t believe we’ve met. Why don’t you take a seat next to Sakura-chan and introduce yourself.”

She went over to the seat cushion looking at it like it might bite her, before finally kneeling down. “My name is Kagame Ryo, thank you for having me in your home.” _Kagami, huh, with eyes like a mirror I suppose it makes sense._

“Oh, yeah, and dad?” Shikamaru interrupted, “It’s spelled like Ka-ga-may.” The girls face seemed to get red at that. _Crooked? Her parents must have hated her to give a name like that. Then again, Inoichi named his kid pig._

“So why do you pronounce it like _Kagami_ then? Is it just preference?”

“I was taught the wrong spelling, but I didn’t really find that out until I entered the academy.”

“So why keep using the wrong spelling.”

She looked dejected for a moment, “because it was given to me by someone important. It would be a disservice to their memory if I changed it now.” _Now that wasn’t something I was expecting, not from an eight year old anyway._ “Plus, it’s already on my official file from when I moved here, so it would be way too much trouble to go back and change it now.”

Chouza stopped eating his potato chips on hearing that. “Choji, you didn’t tell me you had a transfer student in your class!”

_"My son didn’t even tell me she’d be coming over." I muttered under my breath._

“So Kagame-chan, where are you from then?” Chouza asked.

At that, Choji coughed up bits of his own chips he was eating, and Shikamaru’s cool facade broke. He was desperately trying to keep himself from laughing. Kagame looked a bit confused, and opened her mouth before being interrupted by Inoichi. “Kagame- _kun_ is a boy, Chouza.” I felt my spine stiffen. _Thank the gods it wasn’t me. Shikamaru would never let me live it down._

Chouza looked completely aghast. “I-Is that true Choji, is your classmate really a boy?” The two boys had completely broken down laughing while Ino had facepalmed. Inoichi, meanwhile, had a smug expression plastered on his face. Sakura had a light dusting of pink on her cheeks as she looked down at her hands.

Kagame cut back in, “I’m from out east, from a place called Ginnomegakure, in the land of beasts.” _The village hidden by s_ _ilver eyes, so they all must look like that then._

“The land of be-” Chouza was cut off before he could finish as Yoshino and Kaiya came in with dinner. But his face revealed both fear and disgust. He quickly masked it as Yoshino set the table.

 

** Kagame pov **

“I can’t believe your dad said that Choji, what kind of clan head is he? A shinobi isn't worth anything if they can't even tell the difference between a boy and girl.” Ino shrieked. Dinner had ended and we were led to a large room with a closet. _Well, I was led at least, the others moved with confidence, knowing the layout of the house like the back of their hand from countless sleepovers past._

Shikamaru spoke up as Choji looked down in shame. “Lay off Ino. Why do you always have to be such a drag. Besides, Kagame has the same hair that Sakura does.” I looked towards the pink haired girl and couldn’t deny the similarities in how we cut our hair. _All I’m missing is the red bow_. “Actually, let me see your hair clips for a minute.”His eyes lit up as he smirked.

"Why should I?" Ino demanded.

Shikamaru let out an exaggerated sigh. "Come on and just hand em over already, will ya." Shikamaru held out his hand expectantly. Ino seemed to hesitate for a moment before handing them over, a scowl on her face. Shikamaru came up to me and pulled some of my hair to the side before putting in the clips. He smiled as he admired his handy work, “There! All done. Now he looks just like you.”

Sakura let out a breath of surprise before uttering her first words of the night, “He really does!”

Ino puffed out her reddened cheeks, turning her head as she tucked a strand of her now loose hair behind her ear. “I guess maybe a little… but I’m still way prettier than he is!”

Shikamaru led me out of the room as the others started pulling out futons from the closet. “I’ll show you your new look while they set up.” He said before leaning in closer to whisper, “ _Now we don’t have to listen to them complain about who sleeps where_.” _And you get out of actually having to do anything too._ He led me down the hall to a small bathroom before turning me around to look into a mirror. “See, just like Ino, except your not a smug little princess.”

I saw my face blush at the compliment, “Um, thanks. I-I like it like this…” _Is it okay to like it? Ino talked like there was some big difference between boys and girls. But there were barely any men back in Gin so it's not like I have any way to compare. And even if there is a difference… I really wanna be like my sister._ I saw Shikamaru smirking behind me in the mirror.

“It really suits you- it draws more attention to your eyes.” _So many kept their eyes hidden behind bangs to draw attention elsewhere, anything so people wouldn’t see them. They always said people hated our eyes. They were afraid of us._ “I’m sure Ino won’t mind if you keep them, she has like a million in her room and she said she wants to grow her hair out anyway. So she probably won’t need them for much longer.”

“Really? Is it because of her dad?” _He has really long hair, so it’s probably a Yamanaka thing._

Shikamaru made a face like he stepped in something before answering, “No, it’s because _Sasuke likes girls with long hair.”_ he finished in a mocking tone. _Well there goes my theory._ “I don’t get why she likes him so much, he’s just a stupid boy. He’s not even nice. He never talks to anyone, not even at the official clan meetings.” _Official, so what’s this then? Are their dad’s all just friends, hanging out? I mean, I guess he did say they had an alliance together after all. So it’d be kind of hard if no one liked each other. So the official meetings must have all the clans of Konoha. Even the ones that don’t like each other._ Shikamaru took out his hair tie, letting his hair fall down to his shoulders. “Come on, let’s get back to the others before poor Choji dies of boredom.”

 

 _I had… fun. A lot of fun. I never imagined I could have friends like this._ Choji’s still a little shy, but he’s really nice and even shared some of his barbecue flavored potato chips. I only had a few because I was really stuffed from eating dinner, but they tasted really good. I can see why Choji’s always eating them. I wish I could have had more, but I kind of over did it at dinner, _but if I didn't eat, it would have been rude, and suspicious._ Shikamaru was laying on the grass as he watched the clouds, he said it was his favorite pastime. Sakura is just as shy as Choji, but she has Ino to help get her out of her shell and do things while Shikamaru's laziness doesn't really encourage Choji to do anything at all. Ino walked around the garden naming each of the flowers that grew there and even some of their uses like being turned into medicine or tea. Sakura followed her eagerly asking questions about what flowers would compliment each other in an arrangement. Apparently it was for the special kunoichi classes that all the girls started taking recently.

It sounded like it would be fun, _I’m a little jealous,_ they get to go to the flower fields while we’re stuck with extra sparring time. Sending messages without leaving a paper trail would be super cool. And the extra sparing is so boring, I already know all the academy katas and the other kids are starting to learn their special clan styles. It’s just not fair to those of us without clans to teach us.

 

The sky was beautiful, it was pink and orange and even a little red as the sun was setting across the sky. It continued lower until it was completely hidden, the sky changing to purple then to dark blue and finally black as tiny dots of light appeared one by one. Hung on the starry backdrop, the moon a crescent, like a hooded eye about to succumb to slumber.

 

That night as we laid on the futons, Shikamaru turned to look at me, his face illuminated by the moon’s pale light. “Are you still awake,” he whispered. I nodded, hoping to have conveyed my answer, not sure if he could see me as I did him. “So what was your village like, you’ve never talked about it until today.”

“There’s not much to say, Konoha is a lot more… well it’s just more, to be honest. There’s a lot here that we didn’t have back in Gin. I like it here, the only thing I miss are the others. But not as much as I think I should. Not many of us were really close. I only had a handful of sisters that I actually knew personally. I never even found out the name of the one who took me out of the village… They all had silver eyes like mine, I think that’s where the name for our village came from, plus I mean, it was all just people from our clan, no one else really. They also wore white and had pieces of metal armor, and huge swords, that were bigger than me.” I felt my lips twist up into a smile. “They were strong and fast and fought to protect the people of our land. I wanted to be just like them…”

“Do you still feel that way now?”

“No… I… I think I want to in some ways, but… I want to be different too. I like having fun and smiling and talking to you… And Choji.” I quickly tacked on. “Those are things that they never did. They never showed any emotion… They were always so cold, there was never any room to falter or be kind, because that was weakness.” **_And weakness is the greatest sin of all._** My tentative smile dropping into a frown.

“That sounds like a huge drag. No time to have fun or just relax. I wouldn’t wanna stay there either.”

“ _More than anything, I want to be a normal human being._ ” I whispered, unsure if Shikamaru could still hear me. I laid there, listening to the steady breathing of those around me, as the moonlight was swallowed up by the passing clouds. And in that passing moment... I pretended that this could be every night, that I could live just like this. And then the moon emerged and I was far too aware that this night would end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all noticed what Chouza said.


	5. Conclusion of Academy Days: Broken Bonds, Apologies, and Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are downsides to being human, too. Humans make mistakes, and view the world through a cracked lens. Emotions war with logic, causing outcomes that don't always make sense.

I went home on Saturday morning, I walked with a spring in my step, happily humming tunelessly. It wasn’t until I arrived at my apartment that I felt my mood dampen. Compared to yesterday, everything just seemed so… lifeless. I could barely even tell that anyone lived in here. The walls looked dustier than I had remembered. But I knew they weren’t actually dusty, that was just the paint color. As for the furniture, the sofa was brown and clearly not new, _now that I had seen what new was supposed to look like._ The wooden table by the kitchen was covered in scratch marks and pale rings. The cabinets were an off white color and had loose squeaky hinges, which made their doors hang crooked. Even the sheets on my bed were a dull grey. _And though more comfortable than stone flooring,_ were not nearly as soft as the tatami I had just slept on last night. **_Plain_** **,** _he should have mentioned old, depressing as all hell, and fucking shitty._ I let out a sigh as my shoulders hunched over. _Nothing like a taste of the good life to make you hate everything you own._

 

On monday, Shikamaru told me we couldn’t be friends anymore. Choji’s dad didn’t want them hanging out with me. “I’m sorry”. He wouldn’t even look me in the eyes when he said it.

At lunch I went outside and fell back against the wall and slid down until my knees covered my face. _Why? I didn’t do anything wrong. Why did he suddenly decide to hate me?_ **“The land of be-” It was then that Yoshino and Kaiya interrupted with dinner ready.** _It’s from where I was born?_

 

_She had slowed to a casual stroll and set me down. “_ **_We need to stop for supplies, it’ll be a long journey_ ** _.” We entered a small town around noon, the people were milling about the market square. They all turned to look at us when we arrived. They looked absolutely terrified. “_ **_We won’t be here long, wait here while I gather what you’ll need_ ** _.”_

_After she had left my side to visit the different stalls, a man rushed up to me and kneeled. “_ ** _Don’t worry we can help you, just follow-"_  ** _he stopped when he looked at my face and fell over backwards. “ **Y**_ **_-y-you… you’re one of them._ "** _He scrambled to his feet and ran off clumsily._

 

**_“A Silver Eyed Witch”_ **

 

“Hey… are you alright” the soft voice broke me out of my stupor. I looked up, tears streaming down my face, to see brilliant blue eyes. _The same blue as the sky._

I frantically looked around as I jumped to my feet. There was no one else around. “What are you doing!? I can’t be seen around you! It’s already bad enough I lost Shikamaru, I don’t need people to hate me even more.” My voice cracked as I let out an audible sob. “Get lost Uzumaki!”

The look on his face went from concerned to angry, but his eyes conveyed pain. He ran off while shouting, “Fine! Be that way, bastard!”

My back pressed back up against the wall, _god I’m a hypocrite._ I reached out my hand, “Wait… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” I dropped my hand as I slid back down. He’s gone. _Great. Absolutely, fucking, great._

 

It had been three weeks since the Uchiha Massacre, when Sasuke showed up at school again. I was sitting alone by the window, when he sat next to me. “ _Thank you_ ” he whispered.

“Ah, yeah sure. It’s no problem. We’re all training to be shinobi after all. And… you looked like you needed help. That’s just what we’re supposed to do.”

“Hn.”

 

After that he continued to sit next to me, but we didn’t speak at all. _Not that I had a problem with that_. It was nice, almost like I had a friend again. But I’m sure it’s just because he wanted to avoid talking to anyone. He needs a buffer to repel all his fangirls, which leaves either me, Naruto, or Shino.

The girls shoot me dirty looks, including Ino, whose hair clips I’m still wearing. _It’s not like I can ever give them back, not when the clan heads don’t want me around._ She changed her hair though, her bangs over one eye while the rest is pulled back into a small ponytail. Her eyes cold like ice, but it’s not just me she started looking at like that. It’s Sakura too. _I thought they were supposed to be best friends? Maybe her dad decided they didn’t like Sakura either then._ It’s still worth it though. I reach up to touch the clip by my ear. _It doesn’t matter, i have it, proof that I actually had friends. Proof that I mattered to someone. Proof that I could be just like everyone else. Even if it was just for a short time. And I still have someone to sit next to everyday, even if he never says anything._

Sasuke takes diligent, detailed notes, his penmanship neat, his notebook filled word for word with what Iruka and Mizuki-sensei teach. He never pauses as his pencil swishes across the pages. He doesn’t look like he’s paying attention though. He just blankly stares ahead, not even looking at his notebook, like he’s in some sort of trance. I find out I’m right after we receive our first test since the massacre. He only gets a C.

He’s gotten more aggressive in spars, moving faster, using more devastating kicks and punches. But his defence is full of holes. It doesn’t seem to matter though. He still always wins, no one seems to be able to keep up with him. They can’t let their guard down for even a second as he lands blow after blow, until they get sent flying back. The only kid who gets back up after is Naruto. He has this look in his eyes. Like he wants to tell Sasuke something important. He never does say anything though.

Sasuke still stays after class to do extra shuriken training. He’s scary good, he always hits the eighth to tenth inner rings of the target. _I only ever hit sixth, and that’s on a good day._ Sakura always stays behind for a while to watch him practice. She has a look on her face that I can't identify. Sasuke either doesn’t notice she's there, or he doesn’t care.

 

It’s the day of the Rinne Festival when I corner Naruto. Even with all the people flooding the streets, it’s easy to find him. _That shapeless blob of red hair is hard to miss._ It’s been months since I snapped at him, but I still think about it all the time. _A shinobi does not show their emotions. They get in the way and cloud judgement._ **_You can be a human being._ ** The two thoughts conflict inside me. But, I know what I have to do.

He’s panting in an alley, air rushing out in harsh, shallow, breaths. White and crisp in the winter air. He was just chased away from one of the booths. The man running it as cold as the snow. “Get outta here demon brat. You’ll scare away all the customers.”

Naruto's eyes widen when he raises his head to see me. Before he can say anything I give a deep bow. “I’m sorry, for everything that I said. You already have enough to deal with without me piling on top. I shouldn’t have taken out my anger on you. It’s not befitting for a shinobi… for a human being. Basic decency itself demands more.” My chest aches. “I’m sorry… I don’t deserve it, but please, I beg of you. Please forgive me.” My eyes feel itchy. Tears begin to hit the ground, melting the snow as they fall. “Please” but they aren’t mine. He runs off, leaving me bowed at the waist, hands clenched tight. “...Please.”

 

Naruto doesn’t say anything at the academy. He doesn’t look at me. He doesn’t ever interrupt when Iruka-sensei asks me to answer a question. He always rushes out the door when class ends, except for when he has detention. Even then he averts his gaze, refusing to look at me. But I feel lighter, inside. I wish I could have apologized sooner. Maybe he could have been my friend.

 

  
It’s not until fall when I notice it. Hermit purple coiled around the bones in my left arm. I look down and don’t see anything though. It feels like it’s been growing. But I guess that makes sense. Iruka-sensei told us that when we turn ten, our chakra coils expand rapidly. And hermit purple being a construct of chakra, can only get stronger because of it. _Even if it does itch like hell._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the manga, Chouza was one of the shinobi calling for Naruto's execution when Naruto stole the sealing scroll because he thought the nine tails had taken him over. So I thought "why not make him a bit of a xenophobe too". Just cuz he cares about his son and wants him to be happy, doesn't mean he can't have faults.


	6. And So It Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The academy is over and the would be genin are assigned teams. Pretty sure it should be obvious who I'm putting with Kagame. Sorry to fans of Sakura, I really like her too, but she's the easiest one to take out of the equation.

It was my first day as a genin, a shinobi of the leaf. I had passed the graduation exams just fine, I finished my days at the academy as an average student with no notable skills. The only prominent point of my file was the academics section. I had managed to rise into the top three in the last few years of study.

I looked around the classroom to see a large number of kids around me- _not kids we’re all adults now… I guess. I don’t feel very adult. But legally, I guess I’m allowed to kill people now… sooooo. Is that adult? Or is it just an adult activity? Oh god I am not prepared for this at all, I am not an adult!_ The other **_Genin_ ** were a mix of my old class and class B, which used to be across the hall from us. Over the years a lot of kids dropped the shinobi course at the academy to pursue civilian careers instead. Either from loss of interest or because they just couldn’t hack it as a shinobi. So now our class was full for the first time in the last three years. There was a chance I’d end up on a team with people I didn’t even know the names of. The thought filled me with both excitement and dread. _They wouldn’t know anything about me. It was another chance to start fresh._ **_But I thought the same thing when I came to Konoha and look how that turned out._ ** _Well… no matter who I end up with, we’ll have to learn to get along anyway, right?_

I saw a blob of red hair out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see Naruto squatting on top of a desk, glaring down at Sasuke. _Is he wearing a leaf headband? But I thought he failed the exam._ I wasn’t the only who seemed to think so as Shikamaru asked that same thing before Naruto starting spouting off about how great he was and how he was “gonna be Hokage someday, believe it!” It wasn’t until Ino yelled at him for annoying Sasuke that he remembered what he was doing, and went back to having his staring contest with the Uchiha. Unfortunately for the both of them, the boy sitting in front knocked into Naruto, causing him to fall forward and plant a kiss right on Sasuke’s mouth. They pulled apart and started spitting as if they had just ingested poison while the girls quietly surrounded Naruto. Eyes gleaming in anger, faces contorted into vicious smiles. **_Like a predator flashing it’s teeth_**. _Naruto is so fucking screwed_.

The girls didn’t stop until Iruka-sensei - _or is it just Iruka now_ \- told everyone to sit down. I couldn’t help but notice that he was injured and Mizuki was nowhere in sight. _I wonder if it has something to do with all those shinobi scouring the village the other day._ “As you all know, today is your first day as genin. Something you’ve been looking forward to for the past seven years. As genin you’ll be placed on teams of three and assigned to a jounin sensei to further your development in the ninja arts, along with taking missions for your village. I have in my hand a list of the new teams. Pay attention while I call out your team number and names.”

As Iruka called out the names of the teams, I noticed that they were all from class B. _So it doesn’t matter that we’re all genin now. We’ll still be paired up with those we spent the last seven years with. It was probably an attempt to put us with people we’re familiar with in order to reduce friction between new squads. So if there are any mixed teams on there, then it’s because of one of three reasons. 1) behavioral problems/interpersonal drama 2) they formed a team of the most exceptional kids from both classes 3) they didn’t have enough kids to keep the classes totally separate. “_ Team Six. Haruno Sakura, Shinichi Tsukinomi, Hatsume Kachi.” _Number three it is then._

Sakura’s head drooped in despair, “I wanted to be on a team with Sasuke.”

Ino, smug as ever proclaimed, “Looks like you lose again Billboard Brow. Guess Iruka sensei thinks I should be with Sasuke. I mean, it’s only natural since I’m the best kunoichi in our class.” _Not much to brag about considering there was only three of you from our class._

Iruka continued reading, unaffected by the chatter in the room. “Team Seven. Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Kagame Ryo.” _What._

 

Naruto pov 

_Whaaaaaat!?! The Bastard and Silver Eyes! What the hell was Iruka sensei thinking! I could never work with those two!!! Why couldn’t he put me on a team with Sakura!! How the hell am I supposed to be a super cool ninja now!_

 

Sasuke pov 

_Well. There goes any hope I had for someone useful. The Dead Last and Perfect Average. Those two will just slow me down._ “Hn” I shifted to glance at Kagame several seats to the left. _At least he’s tolerable though. Hope I can say the same for our new sensei._

 

Kagame pov 

_Well I guess I can die now._

“Team Eight. Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga.” _A tracking team then, I don’t think their clans usually work together due to their general personality archetypes though. So this could be interesting, if they can keep from falling apart._

 _Which just leaves, “_ Team Ten. Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara.” _As I had thought_.

Ino Shrieked, “Oh come on!!! Food boy and that lazy jackass!” _Did you really think you could be anything else, but Ino-Shika-Cho?_ “You guys better listen up, cuz if I’m stuck with you, then I’m the boss. Do you understand me?!” _Those poor poor schmucks._

 

 _Three fuckin hours and he still isn’t here._ The other team’s all had their senseis arrive and left within the first fifteen minutes, leaving us all alone. We were sitting at different desks, making a point of not looking at each other or speaking to one another. It was probably the most awkward I had ever felt in my entire life. _And god was it so. Fucking. Boring_. _I wonder if he’s dead. I hope he’s dead. If not, I might just kill him myself. Because if this is how he’s gonna be the whole time… Well I’m sure I could get Naruto and Sasuke to help… If any of us ever learn how to talk to each other anyway._

 _Speaking of Naruto,_ “What the hell are you doing Uzumaki?” He was standing on a chair by the door, propping up the eraser from the chalkboard.

“Aw, why don’t you just learn how to have fun. I’m gonna prank our sensei for being late. The guy’s a total jerk so he deserves it, ya know.” _What kind of jounin would fall for this kind of shit._

Naruto rushed down from the chair just as the door was opened. A tall, lean man stepped through as the eraser fell and hit his head, giving out a cloud of chalk dust. _Well at least it’s not visible with gray hair._ Naruto fell to the ground laughing and rolling around while holding his sides, as though this were the funniest thing to ever happen to him. Sasuke looked totally flabbergasted.

“How can I put this…” he began, “My first impression is… I hate you.” _Well fuck._ “Meet me on the roof in fifteen minutes… or else.” With that he disappeared in a swirl of leaves and smoke.

I let out a long sigh as I trudged out the room. _This is going to be the longest, most arduous experience in my life._

When we arrived at the roof we sat on the steps in a half circle and stared at our new sensei. “Now, let’s get introductions going. Why don’t you tell me about yourselves.”

Naruto pointed at him accusingly, “Well why don’t you start, how are we supposed to know what to say without an example.”

His one visible eye widened minutely. “How about things like your name, your likes, your dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future- the usual. My name is Kakashi Hatake, I like a lot of things. Things I dislike… well I don't feel like telling you those. My hobbies are… well I have lots of hobbies… and my dreams for the future, well that’s a bit personal. Why don’t you go first, Hothead?”

_He basically just told us his name. Though what should I expect from a man who a) was three hours late and b) covers most of his face with a mask. He clearly isn’t taking this seriously and has major trust issues._

“My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen, especially the ramen that Iruka sensei treats me to sometimes at Ichiraku Ramen. I hate the three minutes you have to wait to eat ramen while it cools down. My hobbies are pulling pranks and comparing different kinds of ramen. And my dream for the future… Is to be Hokage so then everyone will have to acknowledge me, believe it.” _Well that closes the mystery of the Uzumaki ramen smell. On another note, he doesn’t seem to understand how being the Hokage works, he got the order of things totally mixed up there. You have to be acknowledged first and then you become Hokage._

“You’re up next, Girly.”

 _I think he’s actively trying to upset us. What the hell is this guys game?_ “My name is Kagame Ryo. I like reading and learning in general, I guess. I dislike… " _Team Ten"_   people who are late. I can’t say I have any hobbies that I’m aware of. And my dreams… aside from learning to become a better shinobi, not much.”

“Alright, Gloomy, that just leaves you.”

“My Name is Sasuke Uchiha. I dislike many things and I don’t like anything in particular. I don’t have time for useless things like hobbies. And I don’t have a dream, because I will make my ambition into reality. I’m going to kill a certain man and restore my clan.” _The one behind the massacre. Well, I can’t say I’m surprised, he must have been destroyed by it. The only thing keeping him going has to be rage. At least now I know it was a man._

“Well you’re all certainly unique. I’ll give you that, but you should probably give up now.” _Yep, total asshole right here. Thanks Iruka._

“What the hell are you talking about, we just graduated, no way are we giving up now.” Naruto bellowed.

It was then that he started laughing, despite being mostly covered, Kakashi-sensei’s face looked incredibly sinister. “You’re going to hate what I’m about to tell you then. You haven’t graduated just yet.” _What? I mean yeah, I thought the graduation exam was a little easy, but seriously?_ “The exam just picks out candidates that _could_ become genin. Then, we jounin decide which of you will truly graduate and become genin, and which of you will be sent back to the academy for another year. Only one out of every three candidates pass the test, leaving a 66% failure rate.” _But that’s impossible, it just can’t be true. How the hell does Konoha keep it’s roster full? It has to be a lie, that’s it, he’s just trying to psych us out._

“Meet me tomorrow at 6:00 am at training ground three. We’ll be having a survival exercise. I recommend skipping breakfast, you’ll just throw up.” _Well, if I do decide to skip, it at least wouldn’t be a problem for me, Naruto on the other hand is like a black hole when it comes to food, and I imagine Sasuke wouldn’t be too pleased. He’s already grumpy when well fed_. He passed out a paper with information on where to go and promptly disappeared again.

I looked over to see my team was already leaving, before calling out to them, “He was lying you know.” That seemed to stop both of them in their tracks. “About everything. Konoha couldn’t survive if only one team from each class passed every year. Especially not when only one of eight genin advance all the way to jounin. As for throwing up, I think it’d be a lot better to have something inside than to just dry heave. Just a little advice for you both, teammate to teammate. This guy doesn’t seem to want to train us, he’s setting us up for failure. So don’t trust him.”

“No way! I mean- I knew that guy was shady! I wouldn’t fall for that in a million years, believe it!”

Sasuke seemed to think on my words before turning back to leave. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I’ll see you both tomorrow, I hope we can learn to work well together.” _For all our sakes… And if it pisses off Kakashi-sensei… well that’s just icing on the cake._

 

Sasuke pov 

_That’s right. I forgot he was one of the top three. Only beat out by Shikamaru and Sakura. I’ll need to keep him close, he might be of use to me yet._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagame does not like his new sensei. But to be honest most people probably wouldn't. I like Kakashi, but he is a bad teacher. That man should not be in charge of kids. I don't even trust him to take care of himself.


	7. The Bell Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the bell test, It's gonna be mostly the same as the canon. But Kagame's gonna have a bad time from the genjutsu.

It was still dark out when I rose from bed. I stretched towards the ceiling, my back cracking in a few different spots. _Ahhh, that’s it, right there._ It was still dark out, but I didn’t mind. My body was used to it at this point, and I have to get ready anyway. I checked my clock at the bedside table, it read 5:00. I stripped myself of my black tank top and shorts, ready to finally be able to wear the outfit I got for graduating the academy. _I will be a shinobi, I won’t let that man stand in my way. I can only hope my team listened to my advice yesterday, I need them at full power._

Though I didn't necessarily need to eat right now, I did anyway. _I can’t risk putting my team at a disadvantage._ I let out a sigh. _I can’t believe humans have to eat every day, I mean, I guess it tastes good, but it’s such a chore stuffing this much down._

 

**_“It’s called hunger. It’s what drives humans and yoma to eat. It’s hard to imagine with bodies like ours, though it is possible to experience. I can’t remember a time when I’ve felt it myself, but there are warriors who were almost consumed by the beasts within. Those who have come back from the precipice describe it as an endless abyss, a void in their very being, aching to be filled.”_ **

 

_I am a human being. So I have to act like it. If we become a team we’ll spend more time together than I have with anyone else. They’ll notice if I don’t eat enough. They’ll make assumptions and brand me as the weak link. Mentally unfit for active duty._

 

** Sasuke pov  **

_Someone’s approaching_. I turned my head to see Kagame heading towards me. _His clothes._ During the academy he always wore a brightly colored t-shirt and shorts, along with the standard blue sandals. Now he had a white yukata with a black moth pattern tied with a black obi, black leggings, and black boots that covered his shins. His headband was tied around his neck. _It’s a bit more practical, but I doubt that’s why he changed. More likely, it’s a way to distinguish who’s proved themselves among his clan._

 

** Kagame pov  **

I arrived promptly at six. The only person there already was Sasuke, which is unsurprising. Excluding the three weeks after the massacre, Sasuke was always on time, if not early for the academy. It’s one of his more endearing qualities. I greeted him with a brief nod, “good morning Sasuke. I hope you slept well last night.”

“Hn.” _Monosyllabic. Charming._ “Did you eat?” _Huh?_ I must have been making a face because he turned to face me fully. “You said it was a trick, right? I took your advice so I hope you didn’t forget yourself.” His eyebrow twitched in barely contained irritation.

“Oh, uhhh. No, I-I did, thank you for asking.” _I, um, certainly am surprised_. _I never thought Sasuke would take any interest in…_ **_anyone_ ** _but himself. But we are on a team. And… I can’t let my preconceptions get in the way of actually getting to know my teammates. There’s always more to a person hidden underneath the surface._

“Kagame. What’s the purpose of the survival test?” _What’s the- well, I mean, uh… Huh._

“I haven’t figured it out yet, there isn’t enough information available. Once Kakashi reveals more details, I can get to figuring it out. You can count on me.” I flash him a smile and a thumbs up.

“Hn. I’ll hold you to it. Make sure you don’t get in my way.” _Right, of course Lord Uchiha. I will endeavor to make it just so._

It wasn’t until 15 minutes later that Naruto decided to show up. But he was frequently late to the academy so it isn’t unexpected. _At least it isn’t three fucking hours._ “Sorry I’m late guys, I had trouble waking up so early.” Sasuke looked like he had something snide to say, but turned to look towards the the river running under the red bridge.  _That was some amazing self control on his part._

“Good morning Uzumaki, don’t worry about being late. Our sensei hasn’t arrived yet either. Though do try to avoid making a habit of it.”

“Ugh, yeah sorry.” At that moment Naruto’s stomach decided to make itself known with loud rumble.

“You didn’t”

“AHHH! I knew I forgot something.” _You’ve gotta be kidding me._

“Hn. Pathetic. Only you would waste an advantage, loser.” Sasuke sneered.

“HEY! Who do you think you’re talking to bastard?! It’s not my fault sensei had us come out here at the crack of dawn!”

“A true shinobi is always prepared for anything. If you came here to just screw around, then you’ll just slow the rest of us down. If you want to get sent back to the academy, you can leave right now.” _Please if you have a single brain cell, don’t let him bait you like that Naruto._

“Oh yeah! Well why don’t you leave, cuz I’ll pass no problem. This test will be a piece of cake for an awesome ninja like me. And when I pass It’ll be you who’s going back to the academy!”

 _I have to intervene,_ “If we keep our heads cool, then we can all become genin. There’s no reason to be at each other's throats. We don’t even know anything about our survival test yet. But there has to be a special win condition that lets us all pass, otherwise they wouldn’t have even bothered putting us in teams in the first place. Or at the very least, it would be more random.”

“Whatever” Sasuke sneered, turning to look back at the river, effectively ignoring us again.

“Fine!” Naruto’s face contorted into what I assume was supposed to be a pout, facing the other direction. _This is gonna be a long day._

 

I was right, it was a long day. _And we haven’t even started the test yet, because our sensei is a monumental jackass._ We were all facing different directions, waiting for him to arrive. Sasuke was the only one still standing as Naruto and I decided to make ourselves comfortable sitting. _What I wouldn’t give to be a Nara right now. They can all go to sleep at the drop of a hat. It would make waiting a lot more bearable._ It was around 10:00 that Kakashi actually arrived. _Four hours of listening to Naruto’s damn stomach._

“Morning everyone, ready for your first day?” He asked casually.

“Your late!” Naruto shrieked, while pointing an accusatory finger.

“Well you see, I ran into a black cat and had to take a detour.” _He’s not even trying to justify it._ He set down a clock on a nearby stump. “Let’s get started, it’s set for noon. Your assignment is simple." There was a jingling noise as he pulled something out of his pocket. "You need to take these bells from me before time runs out, anyone who doesn’t get a bell gets tied to these posts and has to watch me eat my lunch.” Naruto’s stomach let out another growl as he started moaning. _So that’s why he told us not to eat._

“But that doesn’t make sense, there’s only two bells, how are we all supposed to pass?” I asked.

“You’re right, there are only two bells. So at least one of you will fail. Or, you know, you could all fail.” _This guy’s a total sadist._ “You can use any weapons, including shuriken, along with whatever jutsus you have at your disposal. But a word of advice, if you want to get one of these bells, you’ll have to come at me with the intent to kill. Otherwise, there’s no chance of you winning at all.”

Naruto laughed at that. “You couldn’t even dodge that eraser yesterday, this’ll be easy.”

Kakashi’s eye twitched minutely. “Class clowns are the weakest links. You can usually ignore them. They have the lowest scores, they’re losers.” Naruto’s mood quickly soured at that. He pulled out a kunai and rushed Kakashi, but before he even got close, Kakashi was behind him with Naruto’s own kunai pointed at the back of his head. _I couldn’t even see him move._ “I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I didn’t say start yet.” Sasuke and I both moved back as he released his hold on Naruto. “Now go.”

I quickly scaled the limbs of one of the nearby hashirama trees. I didn’t see where Sasuke went, though I’m sure he had a similar idea. Naruto however stood cockily in front of Kakashi with his arms crossed. _He didn’t learn anything from his failed attack then._

“Aren’t you going to hide, Hothead?”

“No way! I’m gonna be the number one ninja of the hidden leaf! Believe it! So, I’ll never run away!”

“There’s a difference between running away, and waiting for a good opportunity to strike. Allow me to educate you, so pay close attention. Shinobi battle skill number one: taijutsu, the physical part.” Upon saying this he pulled out an book and began reading.

“Hey! Don’t ignore me!” Naruto bellowed as he rushed towards Kakashi, throwing punches and kicks that were dodged with ease. _He’s not even looking at him._ Then he disappeared in a flash. Naruto, just as surprised as I was, blinked dumbly for a minute before Kakashi reappeared behind him, crouching.

“Don’t let your enemy get behind you”

 _Is he using the tiger seal! He could destroy Naruto with that!_ I formed the seal of confrontation and flicked my wrist out towards them. **Hermit Purple!** The spectral vines raced towards them, wrapping around Kakashi’s wrist. “Get the hell out of there Uzumaki!” I yelled as Kakashi yanked me out of the tree I was hiding in. I dispelled the vines around him before creating new ones to sling me across the clearing, disappearing into the forest once more. I looked back momentarily and I saw Naruto create what appeared to be solid clones. I was impressed for a moment… and then he hit himself. _I don’t have time, I need to get as far away as I can before Kakashi gets bored and chases after me._

 

**Naruto’s** **pov**

_Shit! He’s right behind me!_ Before he could do anything though, these weird plant vines shot of the trees followed by Silver Eyes screaming, “Get the hell out of there Uzumaki!” He launched out of the trees before making more vines shoot out of his left hand and swung over to the other side of the clearing. _Now’s my chance!_

I jumped away from Kakashi sensei and made the hand sign for my **Shadow Clone Jutsu!** I felt my chakra well up as they popped into existence and began rushing towards him. “You’re overconfident Sensei. Don’t underestimate me.”

“You talk like you’re the best, but you’re still the worst student. Your jutsu won’t work against me.” It was then that my last shadow clone popped into being and grabbed him from behind.

“Didn’t you say ‘don’t let your enemies get behind you,’ Sensei?” The rest quickly grabbed onto him too, holding him still as I leaped forward. “This is for looking down on me earlier!” I punched him with all my strength, but then… “What!?” _I hit… Myself!?_

“Alright which one of you bastards is Kakashi sensei, huh? Do you think you can trick me with a stupid transformation jutsu?” I then punched the nearest shadow clone nearby.

 

** Sasuke pov  **

_This loser can make solid shadow clones?!_ It was then that Naruto broke out into a fist fight… with himself. _If it were really a transformation, then why not just dispel your clones, idiot._ I continued to watch until they all poofed into smoke, leaving one bruised Naruto left in the clearing. _And no Kakashi. What an absolute joke._

I noticed the glint of metal out of the corner of my eye. _It’s one of the bells! Now I can-_

 ** _'Don’t trust him'_** Kagame’s words rang through my head. _That’s right. It has to be a trap. He’s trying to lure us- for god’s sake Naruto really!?_ He had reached down to grab the bell when a rope closed around his ankles and lifted him up into the air. He squawked indignantly as he flailed around.

Kakashi stepped out from behind the tree Naruto was hanging from and picked up the bell. “A ninja needs to look underneath the underneath. And, if the bait seems too obvious, don’t take it.”

Naruto growled, “I get it, I get!”

“No, I’m telling you this because you clearly don’t get it-” _He dropped his guard!_ I threw five shuriken as he was lecturing Naruto, they whizzed through the air and nailed him right in the head, pinning him to the- _Wait, that noise, it was-_ Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke revealing a log. _Substitution._

I ran through the canopy of the forest, abandoning my compromised hiding spot. _I can’t believe I thought that would work so easily._ I stopped when I entered a small clearing, the sound of bells ringing behind me. I turned around to see him standing still, reading that orange book of his.

I instantly launched into attack, throwing kunai and shuriken at him. He easily dodged before saying “There’s no point using normal attacks.” _He’s right where I want him._ I launched another kunai, this time at a rope trap I had set up earlier when we were waiting on him. It set off a flurry of kunai towards him. He dodged again, but I was able to get behind him and send a kick at his head. When he blocked I used my momentum to aim a punch with the force of my weight behind it right at his face, but he caught it before it could land. I twisted my full body to try and land a kick with my other leg, but to no avail. _The bells though, they’re right in front of me._ I reached out with my free hand. _It’s over._ But just as my fingers brushed against it, he released me and pulled back.

I stood up and then started weaving hand signs. **'** **Fireball Jutsu.'** I released my breath, chakra focused into the back of my throat as fire burst forward, engulfing the space where Kakashi stood. As the fire and smoke died down, it revealed an empty charred spot of earth. I looked around the clearing and in the trees overhead. _Where is he?_

His voice echoed through the clearing, “I’m the last place you’d expect me.” His hand broke through the ground and pulled me under, a cry of surprise escaped my throat as I was submerged up to my shoulders in dirt.

He stood above me with his damn book in hand. “Shinobi battle skill number two: ninjutsu.” His eye shifted to the side before he disappeared. A few minutes later Kagame broke through the undergrowth and stared at me in surprise.

 

** Kagame pov  **

I ran until I stopped hearing the noise from Naruto’s fight. _There’s gotta be a trick behind this. They can’t expect three genin fresh out of the academy to beat a jonin, especially when the graduation test was so easy in comparison. What am I missing?_

It was then I heard Sasuke shout in surprise. I instinctively ran towards the sound to find him buried up to his neck in the ground. “Kagame.”

“Uh. What are you… doing in there?”

“It was Kakashi, I need you to get me out of here.”

“Right, of course.” I knelt down by him and tried to dig him out, but the ground was too hard. _It must have been fixed in place by the chakra from an earth jutsu._ I could barely even break it with my kunai. “I’m sorry, but I’m not getting anywhere with this.”

“Wait! You can’t just leave me here like-”

“I’m not!” I interrupted. “I have a plan to get you out of here, but I need Uzumaki to do it.”

“You can’t be serious, you saw how that loser got beat, right.”

“I only saw up to where he hit himself, but he can make solid clones,” I took out a pouch of salt from my weapons kit and dumped it on the ground. “So he can make more people to dig you out faster.” **Hermit Purple!** The salt dispersed to make a map of the training grounds with a Naruto head by where the posts were. “It won’t take me long, I’ll be back.” I stuck my kunai in the ground for him in case he started to get loose before I came back. _I hope Naruto will agree to help. After all, I did save him back there. But he is stubborn, and he certainly doesn’t like Sasuke._

I stopped dead in my tracks, when I heard a voice whisper behind me, “Kagame.” I turned around to see Kakashi disappear in a wall of leaves.

“Kagame, help me, please. I need your help.” _What’s going on._ Crawling towards me was a deformed creature, it’s limbs long, skin a deep purple, like a full body bruise. It was emaciated, “I need food, I’m so **hungry**.” I fell back, my body trembling, refusing to move. “Kagame… What do your innards taste like.” I pulled out a kunai and began slashing wildly, screams escaping my throat. More of the creatures were clawing out from the ground as the first one drew near. Countless hands were reaching for me, grabbing hold of my arms, my legs, my hair, pulling in all directions, tearing open my skin and pulling it back to reveal maggots crawling inside me _. They’re all over me, they’re everywhere! Stop it! Get off of me!_ Blood soaked through my yukata as I was pulled under the surface of a vast abyss of the crimson liquid. The endless sea of limbs disappeared as silver eyes opened everywhere. I let out a breath, air bubbles drifting upwards. The eyes all turned to look at me, changing from silver to gold, their pupils sharpening into slits. My hair floating in the liquid, spread out, growing, turning black. Everything went dark.

“Shinobi battle technique number three: genjutsu.”

 

** Sasuke pov  **

Kagame ran off towards where the posts were, leaving me alone in the ground, staring down at a kunai and a makeshift map. Aside from the Naruto head and the posts, the only other discernible landmark looked to be the rock sculpture where Kakashi had placed the lunches and the river with the bridge.

I began wriggling, testing the dirt around me for any loose spots of dirt I might be able to dig through. The ground here was pretty hard though. I didn't want to admit it,  _but_ _Kagame might have been right to look for help._

I heard a bloodcurdling scream from the pine trees Kagame had run into, just as a cutting wind came through the clearing. The salt he deposited was blown away, erasing the image of the forest’s layout.

 

After almost 35 minutes of wriggling, pulling, and digging I was finally able to get out of that hole. _At least Kagame left a kunai to help, I couldn’t reach my weapons pouch for the life of me._ I ran towards the pine trees, where his screaming had come from. _What kind of trick did he use to make Kagame sound like that._

After a few minutes of searching I came across his body on the forest floor. It was darker in this part of the forest, only small slivers of light broke through the canopy. He was too still. 

_**Dead**._

His hair looked almost black in the dark.

_**Countless bodies littered the compound, black hair pooling against the ground.** _

_No, he’s not dead. Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up._ I ran over to him and started shaking him, ignoring the thoughts of **_that day_** , poking at the back of my mind. “Come on, get up!” _He’s not dead._

_**I felt something closing in around my chest. “This can’t be happening!” They were everywhere. “Somebody! Help!” Blood was pooling around them, everything was still. Absolutely silent. And then-** _

_No! That’s not what’s happening, that already happened. It's over! I survived! Kagame… Kagame…_

**_“We had discovered you and one of your classmates outside of the Uchiha Compound. They found you deep inside, among the corpses, and carried you out.”_ **

**_“Wh-who was it?” My voice barely above a whisper._**

**_Lord third gave a pause before answering, “It was Kagame-kun, the boy with silver eyes.”_ **

_He…_

**_“This guy doesn’t seem to want to train us, he’s setting us up for failure.”_ **

_That’s right…_

**_“I have a plan to get you out of here, I’ll be back.”_ **

_Kakashi stopped him._

**_“You looked like you needed help”_ **

**_“I hope we can learn to work well together.”_ **

My heartbeat slowed down. _I need to get a hold of myself. If we want to pass, we need to help each other._

 

** Kagame pov  **

I could feel someone shaking me, they were saying something, but I couldn’t make out what it was. “Kagame” _Kagame. That’s…_ “Kagame, get up” _I know that name…_ “I need you! Get up already!” _Sasuke?_ I jerked up, taking in a deep breath. The fresh air of the forest flooding my lungs, driving out the stale taste of blood. My eyes stung. Sasuke was at my side. He was covered in dirt. _Fuck, he must have had to dig himself out._

My throat felt dry and rough, I brought my hand up to my throat as I spoke, “I’m sorry… I failed.” _He didn't even have to fight me like he did with them. He beat me with something that wasn't even real. **I'm not even worth fighting, even if it would be easy, even if he could just dodge and counter whatever attack I could throw at him. I'm not worth the effort.**_

“What the hell did he do to you?” He was incredibly close, closer than we’d been since _that day._ His hand clutching my wrist. _It’s warm._

“I… he caught me in a genjutsu. I didn’t even realize it.” It was at that moment that the alarm from Kakashi’s clock rang through the forest. Sasuke cursed before he helped me to my feet as we slowly made our way towards the posts. My body was being weighed down by the oppressive force of my own failure. _I wouldn’t be a shinobi. I wasn’t good enough. I was_ **_weak._ ** Sasuke was looking at me from the corner of his eye the whole walk back. His iron grip lingering for just a moment before finally loosening.

“Ah, Sasuke and Kagame. Glad you two could make it.” Kakashi greeted. Naruto was already tied to the post in the middle. _I guess we’ll be joining him then._ “You all failed to get a bell. That being said, I’m feeling rather generous today. I’ll give you one last chance after lunch, but if you fail, none of you will be going back to the academy. Because none of you deserve to be ninja at all. But since Naruto broke the rules and tried to eat before the rest of you, he’ll get nothing. If either of you give him anything, you’ll automatically fail.”

Naruto looked utterly pathetic hanging there. Exhausted, beaten, starving, **_humiliated_**. And Sasuke didn’t look much better. They looked nothing like the ambitious loud mouth and prideful prodigy I knew. It was wrong. _They shouldn’t look like this._ I unconsciously tightened my fists as Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving us alone with two bentos.

I heard Naruto’s stomach growl as I opened the bento. _I already ate, and I’m definitely not hungry after what I saw today._ I raised the box up towards Naruto. “Here. Take it. I don’t need it.”

“But… you heard what Kakashi-sensei said. You’ll fail.”

“I don’t care. And as far as I’m concerned, that man is not my sensei.” _He never had any intention of training us from the beginning._ “So just take it. Yeah.”

“Here, you can have some of mine too.” _Sasuke_ “If you don’t eat, then you won’t be able to fight properly. You need to get your strength up, or it’ll hurt the team and jeopardize the mission.” _Practical as always. Still, that’s rather kind of you._

“Um… thanks, but… my arms… I can’t move them, because of the ropes.” I raised my chopsticks to Naruto and fed him a ball of rice, as did Sasuke.

I suddenly felt an oppressive aura fall upon the clearing. Dark and malevolent. _This… it can’t be. Is this yoki? But, he’s human._ The sky became dark as thunder clouds gathered, covering up the brilliant blue of day. A rush of air filled the space around us, whipping across my skin. “YOU! You broke the rules, I hope you’re ready to face the punishment. Any last words?”

It was Naruto that spoke up, “But… you said… But you said there were three of us and that’s why…”

Sasuke picked up from there, “We’re all on this squad, and we’re all in this together.”

“Uzu- _Naruto_ is a member of our team, so I won’t abandon him!” I declared, trying my best to withstand his bone-chilling aura. _It’s not yoki, not quite._

Kakashi’s eye crinkled up in what I assumed was a smile as he said, “You pass.”

Naruto spoke up first, “What?! How?”

“You’re the first squad that succeeded. The others all fell for my traps, hook, line, and sinker. Shinobi must look past deception.”

He walked over to the stone in front of the posts. “Have you looked at this stone? On here are the names of the bravest shinobi of our village. They are a special kind of hero. They were all killed in the line of duty. Some of my best friend’s names are carved into this memorial stone. One of which taught me a very valuable lesson, one that is reaffirmed with every new name added.

“The rules I lay out for you during our time together may not fit in with what you learned at the academy, some may even contradict what you believe to be necessary for being shinobi. But you are to always follow them from this point forward. Rule number one: In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are scum. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.”

Naruto teared up a bit at that, saying “He’s… uh… he’s kinda cool.”

“Team Seven starts its first official mission tomorrow.”

After Kakashi left, I got to work untying the ropes wrapped around Naruto. I didn’t expect Sasuke to say, “Thanks…”

“Thanks for what?” asked Naruto.

“I wasn’t talking to you, idiot. Kagame figured out what to do from the beginning.”

“Really!? Wow, when did you get so smart?”

“Well I…” _I had no idea, honestly. I couldn’t figure it out at all, I knew there was some kind of trick to the test, but... It was just luck._ “Don’t worry about it. We are a team. Yeah.”

 

** Kakashi pov  **

_Even if Kagame figured it out from the beginning, he still didn’t make the right choices. He was too afraid to fight me head on with Naruto and even though he went to get help, he still left you alone and defenseless, Sasuke. To top it off, he didn’t even try to tell either of you the point of the exercise. He’s spineless, apprehensive, careless. After a c rank or two, he’ll quit. His type usually do._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi isn't thrilled with Kagame. He's a lot more focused on Naruto and Sasuke, especially Sasuke. Kakashi has no attachment to this silver eyed kid, no mentor or teammate to be related to him. Plus, he thinks Kagame doesn't have what it takes to be a ninja. Get ready for more bad teacher Kakashi in future chapters, because I had a lot of problems with him and his priorities in canon.


	8. Journey to the land of waves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the genin to take on their first C rank mission. But, there's still bad blood between the three.

_“Team Seven starts its first official mission tomorrow.”_

_Well that’s what he said, but he didn’t tell us anything else. Like when and where we’re all supposed to meet._ Apparently Sasuke had the same idea as me, because I saw him waiting there at training ground three at around 7:00. _It is the only place we’ve been so far. And it’s not like we know anything about Kakashi to try and find him. The only thing I have to go on is that he smells like wet dog._

“You’re late. It’s not really like you.” _Late… but…_

“Uhhh. Sorry. Yeah.” I scratched my head. “So you’ve been here since what… 6:00? Like yesterday, yeah?”

“Of course, I don’t want to risk missing sensei.” _I don’t think we have to worry about that, if the last two days are anything to go by._ “So, where’s Naruto?” _Should I know that answer?_

“I’ve, um, not seen him. Sorry.”

“Hn.”

Naruto arrived half an hour after me, not that it mattered. Sasuke went through some basic katas while we continued to wait. Naruto chatted my ear off about everything and nothing. _I really don’t care about which brand of cup noodle tastes the best. I don’t eat the stuff._ I was going through some of my notes from the academy, consolidating all the useful information into a new notebook and going through my borrowed (stolen) student handbook, while trying to tune out Naruto, _to no avail._

It was noon when Kakashi arrived. Just like yesterday Naruto pointed and yelled, “You’re late!”

And again, Kakashi made up a lame excuse, “Ah. Well you see, there was this old lady that needed help with her groceries-”

“You liar!”

“Well, why don’t we get started then.”

Kakashi then led us back into the village to the Hokage Tower. It was on the second floor to the left where we entered a large spacious room. There was a table in the middle with three seats. The one on the right was occupied by Iruka, the one on the left was a random shinobi I had never seen before, and in the middle was old man third. _Doesn’t he have anything better to do?_

 

 _Apparently, no one in the village has anything better to do._ For our first mission, we were tasked with finding a lost cat. It was surprisingly more difficult than we thought it would be. Naruto fell, got covered in mud, yelled at by civilians, got into fight after fight with Sasuke, ruined a topiary garden, and was scratched to hell by the cat itself. But we did manage to catch it… _after four and a half hours_.

Our missions over the next two weeks were just about the same. Weeding gardens, picking up trash, _and finding that same fucking cat four more times._ Apparently, it belonged to the wife of the Fire Daimyo. _Though why she’s here in Konoha instead of the capital city is beyond me._ It was after the last time catching her cat that Naruto broke. _I’m surprised he lasted this long._

“I’m sick of all these lame missions old man! I’m a ninja now believe it! And I should be doing cool missions, not catching lost cats. So why don’t you give us something better!”

Iruka answered,  _well not really answered, more lectured._  “How dare you talk back to lord Hokage like that! You dare to question him-”

“That’s enough Iruka.” _The old geezer always did seem to hold a soft spot for kids. And there’s certainly no one more childish than Naruto. “_ Naruto-kun, the reason you are placed on these missions is because you have only just begun your career as a shinobi. In order to maintain the safety of our shinobi, as best as we can anyway, missions are ranked from D to A in difficulty. Jonin are given A ranks, as they are the most difficult to complete. Chunin are assigned C and B ranks, as well as the occasional A rank, if they are talented enough. And genin are given D ranks to start out with. The system was designed by lord second to avoid unnecessary loss of life, by matching missions with the appropriate skill level of a shinobi.”

 _Well I suppose that makes sense, but still…_ “Lord Hokage if I may,” _I hate calling him that._ “You said genin _start out_ with D ranks, meaning that they _can_ take on higher ranked missions. And we have Kakashi- _sensei,_ who is a _jonin_. So I’m sure he’ll protect us in the event something does go wrong.” _God, I’m bullshitting to the fucking Hokage._

“It’ll be the quickest way to make Naruto shut up. Plus, it’ll be good practice for when we become chunin.” _Of course Sasuke wants to go too. Even if he won’t outright admit it. Hopefully the two of them can put their differences aside long enough to prove we can handle more difficult missions._

Old man third smirked at that. _Wait, did he-_ “If that’s the case, I do have one you could do.” He turned his head as he shouted, “You can come in now.” _How did he do that?_

An older man staggered in carrying a bottle of foul smelling liquid. _Despite his age he has some pretty impressive musculature, it’s not exactly defined muscle though, and his hands look rough and calloused._ “This is your client, Tazuna. He’s a bridge builder from the land of waves. He hired you to escort him back to his home, while protecting him from bandits and the like.”

“What? I paid good money, and you’re gonna put me with some snot nosed brats?” _So this is the old man’s game._

“What did you-” I slapped my hand over Naruto’s mouth.

 _“Don’t let him get to you, we still haven’t been given the mission yet.”_ I hissed in his ear. Naruto immediately calmed down, shoulders slumping in resignation.

“I assure you, Kakashi here is a jonin of the leaf and is more than adequate for the mission you paid for.” _I sure hope you’re right old man._

 

After our meeting with Tazuna ended, we left for Ichiraku Ramen, on Naruto’s insistence, as some sort of celebratory dinner. Unfortunately, Kakashi decided to tag along, _which means he won’t be paying for his food, the damn cheapskate._

After they had all ordered - _I declined any food, claiming I was sick of all the ramen, which isn’t exactly untrue-_ Naruto asked Kakashi, “So what’s the land of waves like, huh sensei?”

“I can’t say I’ve ever been, but it’s an island nation between here and the land of mist.”

“Well how long do you believe we’ll be gone for? And what should we bring?” I asked.

“We’ll probably be gone for at least a week, maybe two. As for the latter, bring whatever you think best.” _Naruto will bring ramen with an answer like that._ “Well thanks for the food, it’s about time I left.” and with that he disappeared in his standard fashion of smoke and leaves. _I guess I’ll have to pay for his bowl._

“Naruto, take me to your home when you’re done.” Sasuke shot me a look when I said that.

“Um… why?”

“Because I want to make sure that you don’t pack anything stupid like a whole bag of only cup noodle.”

“I’ll come too then. We can go to each of our homes and help each other pack.” _I guess we all probably have different ideas on what to bring. If we pack together we might bring things we wouldn’t think of normally._

“I’ll second it then. What about you Naruto?”

“You didn’t really give me a choice, since you said you were going already, but fine.”

 

** Sasuke pov  **

We started with Naruto, since he lived the closest and probably needed the most help packing. _I knew he was orphan, but I didn’t think they’d set him up in this kind of neighborhood._ It was right by the red light district. There was plenty of graffiti on the outside of the building, and more than one homeless man vomiting in the street.

He didn’t have a to go pack ready to leave at any moment, so that was already a bad sign. Then there was the fact that he hadn’t cleaned up in here… in ever probably. There were dirty dishes in the sink, ramen cups and take out boxes littering the floor, dirty sheets, chipped yellow paint, and to top it all off it smelled like something very well could have died in here. I turned to Kagame, who was trying not to gag, and decided we would have to go to my apartment instead and just show Naruto what a properly packed bag looks like. _It’s a good thing he didn’t have any of the ramen or he probably would spew all over the place. Not that it’d make much difference in this mess._

“We just got here, why are we already leaving? You guys didn’t even step inside!”

“If we go in there, I’m pretty sure Kagame will die.”

“Hey, what are you trying to say bastard!”

“That we’re gonna have to come back here with gas masks and bleach the hell out of this place when the mission is over.”

When we were far enough away Kagame sucked in a deep breath and added, “I’m surprised you haven’t died of dysentery… or sepsis… or super gonorrhea… or some kind of unknown virus only found in the middle of hidden rain that makes your face melt off.”

“Oh come on it’s not that bad!”

“It’s still not _good_ , idiot.”

 

I opened my apartment door, and led them inside, inhaling the scent of pine. _God I can’t believe anyone lets Naruto live like that. I’d at least think that the Hokage would check in on him every once in awhile._ My own apartment was nearly spotless in comparison, the walls a pristine white, no garbage on the floor, dishes clean and put away in the cabinet. The bed has its own separate room, instead of laying in the living room.

“This is what a person’s home should look like, and smell like, Naruto.”

He crossed his arms, pouting, _though it kind of looked like he was constipated._ “Yeah, whatever Sas-uke. You think you’re so cool-”

“Oh my god Naruto, it’s called basic hygiene. You can’t win this one. Garbage belongs outside, **_not all over the fucking floor_**. This is **_not_ ** a discussion.” Naruto looked totally taken aback. His eyes widened, mouth parted in surprise. And- _hold on, is he afraid of Kagame? No… wait, that’s not just fear it’s… what is that…_

Kagame seeing the same thing shifted from angry to guilt ridden. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I…” He stopped and took in a deep breath, schooling his features. “Like Sasuke said, we’ll help you when we get back from wave. Yeah.”

Naruto still looked a bit weary, but he nodded.

“Right, well let’s go to my room and take a look at my bag.” My voice was rushed and awkward as I spoke. I remembered dealing with these kinds of fights back- _no don’t think about it._

I led them to my room and unloaded my bag on the bed so they could see its contents. **A bedroll, a demon shuriken, four ration bars, three changes of clothes, a canteen filled with water, deodorant, bandages, a rain jacket, and a whetstone.**

I then emptied my shuriken holster and hip pouch. **15 shuriken, 12 kunai, 5 smoke bombs. a stack of paper bombs (20 count), and a scroll with a pencil.**

“Well. You seem to have almost everything taken care of.” Kagame sounded rather impressed.

Naruto on the other hand looked dumbfounded. “You need all this!? Just for a week?!”

“Well actually, I probably didn’t pack enough food, if I’m being honest.”

“Plus, you don’t have any antiseptic wipes. I mean bandages are great and all, but you still need something to clean up the wound in the event you do get injured… And maybe some basic hygiene stuff for your teeth and hair” Kagame added on.

 

After adding more ration bars and Kagame’s suggestions to my pack, we decided we couldn’t think of anything else to add and left for Kagame’s place.

 _Konoha sure does have a lot of apartment buildings with orphans in them._ Kagame’s walls were white with many small, black cats and moths painted on. _Did he do this himself?_ The ceiling had an image of the moon painted on, surrounded by black. _Black being swallowed up by silver, like an inverse of his eyes._ He led us through the front room and into his bedroom where he started opening drawers and collecting what he thought he would need for the mission. Naruto despite looking at the walls in the previous room with awe, wrinkled his nose from the smell of the new room. It was strong and chemical, like he took the room straight out of the hospital.

He started setting things on the bed he thought would be good to have on him. **3 sets of clothes, 2 filled canteens, the notebook I’d seen him writing in the past two weeks, a pouch with 3 pencils, 2 pens, and a pencil sharpener. A first aid kit, shampoo, conditioner, a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant** **_(a brand that was for women)_ ** **, and** **_eyeliner?_ **

He then emptied his hip pouch and it was then I realized he didn’t have a shuriken holster at all. _How could I have missed that?_ **6 kunai, a stack of paper bombs (20 count), 2 pouches filled with salt, a bottle of ink, a brush, a scroll, and a paperback book.** _Wait, is that an academy handbook. I don’t remember them being that thick._

It was Naruto who spoke up first, “Hey, ughh… you didn’t grab any food.”

Kagame looked surprised, “Oh, ummm, yeah. I… Guess I didn’t. I’m… not really sure what kind to pack. Yeah. Oh! But I do know someone that can help me with that.”

“So why don’t you use shuriken?”

To my surprise it was Naruto who answered, “It’s because Kagame _can’t_ use them, ya know. It was his worst subject at the academy. He never even got them to hit past the sixth ring on the target.”

Kagame brought his hand up to scratch the back of his head while his face turned red. “I… didn’t know you noticed that…” He let out a sigh, “He’s right, so when I became a genin, I stopped carrying them. I’m a lot better with a kunai, so I thought why bother?”

“Well as long as you take care of the food part, I don’t care.” I told him.

“Right, of course, thank you. Both of you, for helping me.” He bowed his head, his hands clasped together in front of him. _It’s not like we even did much._

I turned to face Naruto, “Make sure you pack things like we did, and anything else you think you might need. And make sure it’s _need._ ”

He raised his fist as he yelled, “Yeah, yeah, I get it, alright.”

 

When Naruto and I left Kagame’s house he seemed a lot quieter than usual. Like something was bothering him. _There’s something there between the two of them, it better not get in the way of the mission._

It was when we got to the intersection where we were supposed to part ways that he spoke up. “Hey. I know we just started being on a team and everything… and we weren’t really friends before, but I… wanted to ask you something.” He sounded concerned, he was quiet and subdued, _nothing like Naruto at all._ I turned towards him showing him that he had my full attention.

“What do you think about Kagame?” he asked. I let out a sigh, _so this IS gonna be a problem._

“He’s smart, not to the level of Shikamaru, but he still made it into the top three. Even if he’s unremarkable physically. Why?”

He seemed to hesitate before saying, “I meant the other Kagame.” _Other?_

“What are you talking about loser?”

He quickly smothered his anger at me before answering. “I mean that angry one. The one with weird eyes.” _What?_ “I mean, the one with yellow eyes that look like a… like someone… not human.”

I turned away and started walking, “I don’t have time for your stories idiot, now go home. And you better not be late tomorrow.” _The only clans with doujutsu in Konoha are my own clan and the Hyuga._ _And Kagame is definitely not from either. But… that outburst earlier… I can’t say I’ve ever seen him angry before._

 

It was 8:00 the next day when we met at the village gates, Kakashi and our client were already there, _I’m glad he’s finally taking something seriously._ Naruto and Kagame were moments behind me, I locked eyes with Naruto before he turned his head, clearly still upset with me from yesterday. _He’s such a brat._

After we showed our mission statement to the guards we stepped through the gates and Naruto immediately started whooping about our first real mission and how he never left the village walls before. _Could he get any louder, I don’t think they heard him all the way in hidden mist._ The bridge builder complained about all of us being inexperienced children, before he and Naruto got into a shouting match, which ended with Naruto going into his Hokage speech. _Hokage, Hokage, doesn’t he ever get tired of it._

 

** Kagame pov  **

We had been walking for hours when I felt something dark and malicious as two chained claws erupted from nearby pools of water, cutting through Kakashi. My eyes widened in disbelief as ribbons of flesh flew through the air, chunks of meat hit the ground with a sickening thud. The scent of blood however was strangely missing, though I didn’t have time to think about it as I got into formation, standing in front of Tazuna with a kunai in hand as two strange shinobi emerged. They moved in unison, shooting off their clawed weapons, but before their attack could hit, Sasuke threw his kunai into the intersecting chains, pinning both together to a nearby tree. The two shinobi detached their weapons, rushing forward. Sasuke intercepted one of them immediately while the other went towards Naruto, who was staring in abject horror, frozen in place. _He’s going to die._ I felt the familiar pull on my chakra as hermit purple began to manifest, but before I could act Sasuke had already disengaged from his opponent and pushed Naruto out of the way. As Naruto landed ungraciously on his behind, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and knocked the two shinobi’s heads together, rendering them unconcious.

I let out a sigh as I relaxed, turning my gaze to the pile of gore that had turned into chopped wood. _Does he have to be such a drama queen all the time?_ “Well, you fared very well in your first real fight, Sasuke. Naruto though, well I didn’t expect you to freeze up like that.”

Kakashi went to examine a cut on Naruto’s hand when Sasuke turned to them with smug look on his face, his tone mocking, “You didn’t get hurt did you, scaredy cat?” _Ass._

“Sasuke, it’s his first time it’s perfectly natural-”

I was cut off when Kakashi said, “Their weapons were poisoned, if we don’t get Naruto back to Konoha, he could die.” _What._

“But the village is too far away! He won’t make it in time!”

“I’m sick of getting looked down on and treated like some scared little kid!” With that remark Naruto whipped out a kunai and stabbed himself in the hand, the smell of his blood hitting my nose. “I’ll never back down, I’ll face whatever comes my way head on! Believe it! I swear it on this wound, I won’t let anything stop me!”

“Naruto, that was really cool how you removed the poison and everything, but if you keep losing blood like that, you’ll die.” Naruto then started freaking out. _That’s not true, he’s just fucking with you. It’d take a lot more blood than that._

As Kakashi was dealing with Naruto, I turned to Sasuke, “I know you guys have a rivalry or whatever-”

“-We don’t, he’s not even close to my level-”

“- _But,_ do you have to egg him on like that?”

“Hn.” He turned his head back towards the road ahead, deciding our conversation was over.

Once Naruto’s hand was bandaged, Kakashi came up to us and addressed Tazuna, “I think it’s time we had a little talk. Would you like to inform us why two missing nin were after you?”

Tazuna paled before he revealed the tragic story of his homeland and the hope his bridge symbolized. Throughout the whole thing Kakashi didn’t even show a hint of emotion, in fact, he seemed to be kind of bored.

“Well, unfortunately this mission is above the sanctioned C rank, so we’ll have to be heading back to the village.”

“But it took everything we had just to pay for this mission! They’ll kill me and then my poor, sweet daughter and her grandson will be all alone. I can hear them now, ‘Wah, wah, grandpa, I miss my grandpa.’ And my daughter will curse you cold hearted shinobi and live in misery for the rest of her life.” _You’re really pouring it on thick, huh._

“That’s great and all, but I really don’t care. These kind of rules are in place for a reason, and by lying to us, you’ve already made any contract between us void.”

“Come on Kakashi sensei, we aren’t just gonna give up and let him die. We gotta finish the mission!” Naruto blurted out.

He turned to give us his full attention. “Really? Is that how you all feel?” He seemed to be directing the question more towards Sasuke than anyone, but regardless, we all shook our heads in agreement.

“Well, I suppose we could drop these two off at a broker and use the money to cover the rest of the mission expenses.”

Tazuna burst into tears, “Oh thank you, thank you shinobi-san! You’re saving my life!”

 

** Sasuke pov  **

We had made it to the land of waves, listening to Tazuna switch between complaining and pitiful begging almost the whole way. _I almost want to kill him myself._

A heavy mist started to roll in on our way to his house. Everyone was feeling tense from the attack earlier, but it seemed to amplify here in the woods. There was a rustling in the bushes, which caused Naruto to throw a kunai towards the offending sound. He raced over to see what it was, only to discover a startled white rabbit. _Jumpy fool, I thought we were under attack for a second._

Kakashi yelled for us all to get down just as I felt Kagame force me and the client into the dirt. Something huge whizzed by, the wind brushing against my back. We looked up to see a giant sword inbedded in a nearby tree, quickly followed by a man standing on it’s handle. _That thing would have taken our heads off._

“Zabuza Momochi, the demon of the hidden mist.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter's a little light on action. On another note, hopefully Sasuke can start to learn how to make friends soon.


	9. Clash in the Mist!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the fight with Zabuza. Not much is different for this fight, but it's still pretty early on in canon. On another note, it's time for trauma to make Sasuke feel bad. There won't be too much from Kagame's perspective this chapter.

** Sasuke pov  **

He was standing there with his back turned to us. _He’s either arrogant, or just that good._ He looked like a strange combination of emaciated and muscular, his skin an unhealthy grey.

Naruto started rushing forward, but was stopped when Kagame grabbed him by the collar. Kakashi spoke up first, “Stay back, you’ll just get in the way.”

“But why? You were fine with us fighting the other guys.” Naruto barked.

“He’s not like the others. They were only chunin level at best. This man is in a whole other league, he's one of the seven swordsmen of the bloody mist. If he’s our opponent, I’ll need this…” Kakashi then lifted his headband, revealing his left eye. My stomach clenched when I saw it.

“Kakashi of the Sharingan eye, did I get that right?” _But that’s impossible, only members of my clan can have sharingan._ “It’s too bad, but you’ll have to hand over the old man.”

“Protect the bridge builder, and stay out of this fight.” Kakashi ordered.

“Well, I get to see the sharingan in action. What an honor.”

Naruto then butted in, “Everyone keeps saying sharingan, sharingan. What does it mean?”

“It’s a doujutsu, it allows the user to reflect any taijutsu, genjutsu, or ninjutsu back at the attacker.” I recited the explanation from memory, hearing my own father- _No, focus. Now’s not the time._

The mist around us began to thicken. “Enough talking, I need to exterminate the old man, now.” We entered mangi formation, Kagame on my right and Naruto on my left, kunai drawn. “So I’ll have to eliminate you first, eh, Kakashi?” He disappeared in a flash, standing on the water of a nearby lake, pouring more of it into the air until he was gone.

“Well, if we fail, we only lose our lives.” Kakashi joked in a flat tone, as he too was swallowed up in the mist.

Zabuza’s voice echoed around us, “Eight points. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, suplevian artery, kidneys, heart. Which will be my attack point.” _He talks like an assassin, but with a sword like that, it doesn’t matter where he hits, it’ll cut through us like butter._

A burst of chakra filled the clearing, lifting the mist to reveal Kakashi.  _That power. I feel like I can’t breathe. One shallow breath, one tiny movement of the eye, it’s enough to draw an attack. If it goes on like this, I’ll go insane._

The image of Kakashi began to blur, merging with that of **_that man, from the night I lost everything_** _._

 _I can’t take it, I’d rather-_ just as I grabbed my kunai with both hands, I felt Kagame take hold of my wrist. His chakra thrumming through the muscles in my arm, cold and steady.

“Sasuke, calm down. I’ll protect you with my life.” Kakashi’s words were firm. He turned to look at me with his sharingan before it crinkled as he smiled, “All of you, I won’t let any of my comrades die. Trust me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure” the voice sounded from right by my ear, breath hot on my neck.

In the next moment we were all pushed away as Kakashi had buried a kunai into his abdomen, liquid spilling out, pooling on the ground. _Wait, that’s… water?_

Naruto yelled out, “Sensei, behind you!” There was another Zabuza standing at the ready as the one in front of Kakashi burst, water splashing everywhere. He cut Kakashi in half, only for it too to be water. When Kakashi appeared behind him, Zabuza turned and grabbed his wrist while sweeping his feet and threw Kakashi into the lake. As Kakashi broke through the water’s surface, Zabuza activated his **W** **ater Prison Jutsu**. The water quickly wrapped around him, sealing him inside of a sphere.

“You three need to get out of here, now! Get as far away as you can! His target is the bridge builder!” Kakashi shouted, fear tinted his voice. _There’s no way we could outrun this guy. We’re dead._

Kagame stepped in front of us as a water clone emerged from the lake. “I’m sorry sensei, but monsters like him don’t let prey escape” he turned back to look at us. “Naruto, Sasuke, I’m going to take care of the clone, I need you guys to get Kakashi out of there.” _His eyes._ They glowed in the mist, yellow with slit pupils.

“You’re not shinobi yet, not until you’ve walked the line between life and death countless times and come back.” Zabuza chuckled, “You’re all just a bunch of kids playing ninja.”

Kagame rushed forward with a kunai drawn and lept into the air. But before he could do anything, Zabuza’s sword skewered him. _He’s dead._ His body went limp.

“Cocky little brat. I told you, you’re just chil-” **Phantom’s Mirage.** Kagame’s body disappeared, leaving his white yukata hanging on the blade, before the clone was dispersed. Kagame stood behind the puddle of water, kunai glistening wet. His eyes faded from yellow to silver as his yukata dropped to the ground.

 

**Kagame pov**

Naruto threw a demon shuriken from his pack to Sasuke, who opened it up as he spun around and sent it flying at Zabuza. “That kind of attack won’t work on me.” He growled, as he jumped over it. As the shuriken flew over the lake, a second one emerged from under its shadow, transforming into _Naruto?_ He flung a kunai from his pack towards Zabuza’s arm. _He can’t dodge._ He was forced to pull out from the water prison as the kunai sailed past, freeing Kakashi.

Naruto swam to the shore as Zabuza and Kakashi circled each other, they went through countless hand signs in only a handful of seconds, **Water Dragon Jutsu.**  The twin dragons crashed into each other, raining water down on all of us. _So this is the level of a jonin._ They began going through more hand signs only for Kakashi to pull ahead and finish the jutsu while Zabuza looked on in fear. **Water Cyclone Jutsu.** A huge wave of water crashed into him, breaking trees and tearing up the earth as it crashed into land. But before Kakashi could land a finishing blow, senbon flew through the air, embedding themselves in Zabuza’s neck, killing him.

A shinobi dropped down next to his body. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but I’ve been tracking him for some time now.” His voice was soft, and barely distinguishable from that of a girl. _His mask. He must be anbu from Kirigakure. But, he’s only a few years older than us. He must be extremely talented._

Kakashi limped over to Zabuza’s prone form, checking the pulse. From the look he gave, Zabuza must really be dead.

Naruto’s shouts disturbed the somber mood that had fallen over the clearing, “Hey, who the heck is this guy?!”

The masked shinobi turned slowly, “I am a hunter nin from Kiri. I have been tasked with eliminating Zabuza and disposing of his body. I thank you all for your help in the matter.” He gave a small bow, before taking the corpse and vanishing.

“Can you believe that guy! He’s barely older than we are and he just killed him like it was nothing!”

Kakashi gave Naruto a fond look, “I know it might seem unfair, but in the world of shinobi, there are those much stronger, and also younger than I am.” As he closed his eyes, he fell over to his side.

 

** Sasuke pov  **

_I don’t wanna wake up._ “Ughhh… uuu… mhhhh… huu uh” _What the hell is that noise._ I cracked open one eye as I turned over on my side. Kagame was on all fours, arching his back.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

“What time is it?”

“It’s about 3:00, why do you ask?”

“Why is it 3:00?”

He moved to sit on his knees and faced me, confusion showing on his face. “Because the planetary bodies revolve around the sun?”

I let out an exasperated sigh, “Why are you awake at 3:00?”

“Oh! Well usually I wake up a little later, but I just sort of… woke up. So I decided I might as well start my morning routine. Care to join me?”

I flopped my head down into my pillow before letting out a muffled “no”.

Kagame’s voice lowered to a whisper, “Okay, I’ll try to keep it down so you can get some more rest.”

I shut my eyes and fell back into the dark embrace of sleep.

 

** Kakashi pov  **

**Iwa nin had surrounded us. We were trapped with almost no hope of escape. I rushed the one closest to me, sword in hand.** **_Wait, this isn’t my tanto._ ** **The area became filled with mist, as I thrust Kubikiribocho into the enemy’s abdomen. I stood there as blood ran down it’s blade, coating my fingers as my grip tightened on the handle. My eyes widened when I saw** **_her._ ** **She was hanging limply, her arm raised up to grip the blade embedded in her, as she looked me in the eye. “Ka...ka...shi.”**

I bolted upright, panting, heart racing. I took in my surroundings. I was laying on a futon in a room I didn’t recognize. My body was aching, my chakra almost completely depleted.

I decided to leave the room, despite my body’s protests, and made my way down the hall. I saw a photo hanging on the wall, it featured the bridge builder along with a younger, dark haired woman and a small boy. _We must have made it to the bridge builder’s house then._

I continued down the hall, listening to the quiet moaning emanating from the room at the end. I entered soundlessly, closing the door behind me, to find Kagame stretching as he let out more of the provocative sounds. Naruto and Sasuke lay in their own futons asleep.

 

** Kagame pov  **

I was trying my best to stifle my moans to let Sasuke stay asleep, but _god I need this._ It just felt so good as my joints cracked and my muscles released all their tension. Chakra cycling through my system, filtering out the impurities in my blood.

“Kagame, if you keep making noises like that, I might think there’s something going on.”

I let out a scream and landed on Sasuke, who bolted upright as all the air escaped his body. Naruto let out a panicked yell and threw several kunai in my direction that just barely missed, embedding themselves in the wall.

I quickly got off of Sasuke and stood up, “I-I-I’m sorry, Kakashi was just there and then I fell.”

Naruto was still yelling, “What happened? Are we under attack again? Is Zabuza here?”

Kakashi had started laughing like a madman, sucking in deep breaths in between bouts of laughter mixed with coughing, probably exacerbating his wounds from the other day.

Tsunami burst into the room demanding to know what Kakashi was doing out of bed, “You, mister, are in no condition to be moving about right now. You can speak with the kids later, now get back to your room.”

 

Several hours later, after we all had breakfast, including myself, we entered the room Kakashi was sequestered into earlier that morning. “Hello my cute minions. It’s about time we talked about yesterday.” I felt Sasuke immediately tense beside me.

“First of all, congratulations. Your show of teamwork was rather impressive. Though I hope you don’t make a habit of disobeying your sensei.”

“Hey, that’s not fair, ya know! You told us to follow the special rules!” Naruto shouted.

“He is right you know.” I tacked on. “ _Rule number one: those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.”_

Kakashi looked at us rather nonplussed. “Well I suppose I did say that. But onto more pressing issues, I don’t believe Zabuza is actually dead.”

“But that can’t be, you checked his pulse and everything!” Naruto shouted.

“And the hunter nin took away his body.” Sasuke added.

“That there is exactly the problem Sasuke. You see, hunter nin are supposed to dispose of the body on the spot, in order to prevent any of the village's secrets from falling into enemy hands. But, the hunter from yesterday took the body somewhere else.”

 _I see where you’re going with this,_ “So you’re saying it was a fake. He’s one of Gato’s thugs sent in case Zabuza failed to kill Tazuna.”

“Which means, they’ll be planning another attack.” Sasuke’s expression was hard to read. _What are thinking right now?_

“Unfortunately, in my current state, I’m no match for Zabuza. But, considering the injuries I inflicted, I doubt he’ll be planning anything for at least a week. Which gives us plenty of time to train.”

Naruto jumped in the air whooping, “All right! We’re finally gonna learn some awesome new jutsu!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi's got some inner demons. Maybe they'll rear up their ugly heads in future chapters... And someone's gotta tell Kagame that he's gotta chill down with the moaning.


	10. Chakra and Distorted Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A relatively short chapter detailing the tree walking exercise.

Kakashi led us out to a small clearing in the forest by Tazuna’s house. _I hate to admit it, but I am actually excited to find out what kind of training we’ll be doing. Especially since he really hasn’t actually taught us anything yet._

“Today, I will teach you how to climb a tree.” _I’m sorry I must have heard you wrong, because that sounded fucking stupid._

Naruto raised his hand weakly, “Um… I’m sorry to burst your bubble sensei, but we already know how to do that.”

“Oh no, you see, I’m going to teach you how to climb a tree… without using your hands.” He then proceeded to walk up the tree, with the help of some crutches Tsunami had graciously loaned him. He then hung underneath one of the lower branches with only his feet touching the bark.

“Wow sensei! That’s super cool!” Naruto shouted. _You sure are easy to impress, Uzumaki._

“It’s actually quite a simple technique Naruto. All I have to do is focus my chakra to the soles of my feet.”

“So how does this help us fight Zabuza?” Sasuke interjected.

“Well that’s simple, it’ll help channeling chakra to become second nature to you. Once you master this exercise, you’ll be able to control your chakra much more easily, so you won’t waste as much when you perform jutsu. This way you won’t run out of chakra as quickly, meaning you can fight longer.”

“It also means that we’re likely to be more successful when casting jutsu, right?” I asked. _Though not sincerely since I already know the answer._

“That is another part of it, yes. When you use the wrong amount of chakra for a jutsu, you risk it not working or just being a joke. So it will help you learn more powerful jutsu down the road.”

Kakashi then threw three kunai at our feet. “You’ll be using these to mark the highest point you can climb on the trees, then try to get past that mark on the next try. Ready?”

Naruto plucked his kunai out of the ground, “I’m more than ready, this’ll be easy, believe it!”

Naruto and Sasuke focused their chakra and then ran at the trees. Naruto only made it a few steps up before he fell down. As for Sasuke, he was making decent progress, that is until he made a foot shaped indent on the tree and had to jump off. _It’s about what I expected from them._

Kakashi’s voice broke me out of my musings, “Kagame. Are you just going to stand there all day while your teammates get ahead of you?”

 _You always know which buttons to press, huh sen-sei._ “I just wanted see how they did first was all.” I ran towards the tree, cycling chakra through the soles of my feet. As I made contact with the bark, I matched the frequency of my chakra to that of the tree.

 

**Naruto pov**

Kagame raced past me and began running up the tree. He made it past where the bastard got and kept going. _Why is everyone better at this than me!_ He kept going until he was near the top and sank in his kunai before jumping down. _He… he reached the top on his first try. How am I supposed to compete with that…_

 

**Sasuke pov**

_How the hell did he do that? I did way better than Naruto, and I didn’t even get close to the top._

“Well, it looks like Kagame has the best chakra control of the squad. Good job. Maybe he’ll be the next Hokage. And as for the great Uchiha clan, maybe they weren’t so great after all.”

“Whatever.” _What do you even know about my clan. The only connection I can see is the sharingan, and it’s only in one of your eyes. You’re probably just some bastard child._

 

**Kagame pov**

_Thanks for a painting a big ol’ target on my back. As if our team didn’t have enough problems already._ “Well it’s only natural that I have the best chakra control, as my jutsus require the most amount of control to perform. And besides that…” I pulled out my _borrowed_ handbook. “I already learned this exercise in my advanced student handbook.”

“What!? That’s not fair! He cheated sensei, he already knew how to do it so that doesn’t count!” Naruto howled.

“Well Naruto, some things just can’t be helped. And it’s not like your opponents won’t be playing dirty either.” Kakashi’s voice was light and teasing.

“Fine, first I’ll match Sasuke, then I’ll get all the way to the top.” _Well, they seem motivated now. Even if they’re sending dirty looks my way._

“Well, I’ll leave you all to it. If you need any help, just ask Kagame.” With that, our sensei disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

 

I continued running up and down my tree, as Sasuke and Naruto attempted to learn how to perform the exercise. Sasuke had stalled out in terms of progressing, he had managed to get further for awhile, but he just couldn’t seem to maintain his chakra for that long before using too much again. Naruto on the other hand, he was going back and forth between too much chakra and not nearly enough. After a few hours I decided to take a break. I doubted either one of them was willing to stop however, _or ask for help._

That is, until Naruto made his way up to me. “Hey, so, do you have any tips on this kind of stuff?” Sasuke looked over to us, his eyes narrowed in irritation. _Kakashi already hurt his pride once today, it’ll be difficult for him to ask me on his own._

I turned my attention back on Naruto, who was looking at me expectantly. _I suppose I’ll just have to deal with it later._ “Get on your back.”

“W-w-what?” He stammered. _Oh god, Naruto._

“Just do it, you idiot.”

Naruto reluctantly did as I told him. “So wh-what am I supposed to do now?”

“Just put your feet against the tree and try cycling your chakra til they stick. Then memorize the frequency and apply it the next time you try to climb up.”

“Wow! Thanks Kagame, this’ll help teach that bastard not to look down on me.”

“Yeah, well just remember that it doesn’t mean anything if you can’t maintain a steady, unchanging flow of chakra. Otherwise, you’ll just fall off or break the bark.”

 

**Sasuke pov**

After his little chat with Kagame, Naruto’s progress skyrocketed, his marks getting higher and higher, all the while my own were barely getting more than an a few inches better.

I looked over to Kagame who had stopped the exercise awhile ago. He was meditating while sticking leaves to his forehead. He seemed deep in concentration. _Even now, he’s still working to fine tune his control._

I made my way over to Naruto, though my resolve didn’t feel all that strong. I squatted down next to him, “So, about your talk with Kagame… What exactly did he say to you?”

Naruto blinked a few times before smirking, “I’m not gonna tell you!” He then stuck out his tongue at me. _That little brat._

“Uzumaki,” Kagame’s eyes opened, shining yellow. “You aren’t going to sabotage the team by withholding information, are you?” His voice was cold, and his gaze penetrating. His face lacked any kind of expression. _It’s like he’s looking right through us._

Naruto swallowed hard before answering, “No… I was just teasing him a bit first. That’s all.” He let out a few shallow laughs as he failed to put on even a mildly convincing smirk.

And then in just a blink of an eye, _a literal blink_ , they were silver, and he was just Kagame again. “Then let’s get to it. Yeah.” He smiled, warm, sincere, eyes crinkled.

 

**“The other Kagame, the one with yellow eyes.”**

 

_Kagami, mirror. Glass with a silver backing, that reveals one’s reflection._

_Kagame, crooked. Bent, twisted, warped, distorted._

_A mirror that shows a distorted image._

_His name fits just a little too well._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter. I just felt like the ending was too great to force anything in after it. Also, my updates will slow down from here on out. I have some stuff planned out pretty far from here, but I don't have much else written yet.


	11. Confrontation! Battle on the bridge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to wrap up the wave arc.

_The week’s almost over. Zabuza will be making his next move soon. Though I have to say, I’d prefer it to happen sooner rather than later. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to stand Tazuna and his grandson, Inari._ The boy had just gotten into a tiff with Naruto about heroes being fools, and stormed out when Naruto challenged his beliefs, calling him 'a good for nothing crybaby'. _Everyday that boy has to be a huge pain in the ass, all because his dad died._ I felt relieved when Kakashi had decided to follow the boy out, _though I’m not sure how much an emotionally stunted shinobi will be able to help._

The mood at the table was tense, so I excused myself and went back upstairs to the room we’d been staying in, allowing Naruto to finish my meal for the night. _I’m being reckless, this is the second night where I haven’t finished dinner. I hope no one’s caught on yet, but I’ve seen how they’ve been looking at me lately, ever since the tree climbing exercise._

_If Zabuza could just make his move, then we could get this over with and leave._

I crawled under the blanket of my futon and closed my eyes. _I’m overthinking things. It’s just the stress of the mission getting to me. I just need to get some sleep, I’ll feel better in the morning._

 

When I awoke, Naruto was snoring away, arms and legs sprawled out. Sasuke though, looked unnaturally still, his features were drawn together and there was sweat on his brow. _He must be having a nightmare. He's been having them a lot since we got here. I wonder if he's had them for awhile now._ I draped my hand over his forehead, oddly blank looking without his headband on, and sent out a stream of chakra. His muscles relaxed as his breathing evened out a bit. I withdrew my hand and left the room.

I was surprised when I was greeted by Kakashi, sitting at the dining room table, with that disgusting trash he calls literature. “Good morning Kagame, you sure are up early.”

“Good morning sensei. I’ve made it a habit to wake before the sun.”

He answered without looking up from his book. “I’ve noticed. But that aside, I wanted to thank you for helping the boys with their training, and of course for guarding Tazuna this whole time.”

“It’s no trouble, sensei. I’m merely fulfilling my duties as a shinobi.”

His eye crinkled in that way of his, indicating a smile. “I’m not so sure about that. After all, you could have gone back to the village, considering how dangerous things have become. Even with the reward for the demon brothers, we still haven’t covered the expenses for an A ranked mission, certainly not one of this calibre anyway. But not only that, you haven’t shown an ounce of fear this whole time, even when it became too much for the other members of your squad.”

“I’m really not sure what you’re trying to get at sensei.” 

He brought his hand up and rested it on my head, ruffling my hair. “You can leave things up to me from here. I’ll be joining guard duty, along with Sasuke.”

I tried to fight the blush making itself known on my face. “So, what about Uzumaki then?” _And me, I guess... do you not need me..._

“Naruto, well I think he deserves some sleep after all that hard work he’s put into his training.” He paused before adding, “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna ask you to stay behind. I’ll need both Sasuke and you to protect the bridge builder.” _Am I that obvious?_

 

 _Whoever said ‘be careful what you wish for’ was right._ When we arrived at the bridge, the workers were sprawled out on the ground, and a thick mist blanketed the area. Zabuza and the fake hunter, Haku, had been waiting for us. Sasuke went toe to toe with Haku, despite his speed and unique brand of jutsu. _Ice, he must be from a clan possessing a kekkei genkai._ But, nothing could stop him once he cast his crystal ice mirrors, Sasuke was trapped, surrounded on all sides, helpless to defend against the onslaught of senbon thrown his way.

Once Kakashi started to fight Zabuza in earnest, I was left all alone with Tazuna, the mist thickening, obscuring any last remnants of their fight.

I was alone, unable to help either of them without leaving Tazuna alone. _Even if I tried using phantom’s mirage again, I don’t know how well it would work. A water clone is one thing, but the real Zabuza is far beyond my capabilities, and i’d just get in Kakashi’s way. But if I tried to help Sasuke, there’s no guarantee I could keep up with Haku’s speed._ I turned to look back at Tazuna, his eyes wide, legs trembling, taking in shallow breaths. _What the hell am I supposed to do?_

My eyes itched as yoki flowed into them, my stance becoming lax. I turned my attention back to the mirrors. _Tazuna is safe for now. Kakashi can hold his own with Zabuza. That just leaves Haku. I need to focus on the battle in front of me, rather than be overwhelmed by the situation. If I watch for long enough, I should be able to find some kind of weakness or opening._

After several minutes of Sasuke trying to fend of the barrage of senbon, he was disarmed. I caught a flash of orange in my periphery. _Now’s my chance._ I threw my kunai towards the mirrors, only for Haku to slip out and catch it. _Good, his attention is on me now._ He was then struck in the head by a shuriken, falling out of the mirror completely.

Naruto appeared out of a flash of smoke. _Do you really need to make such a flashy entrance? It’s already bad enough we have to deal with kakashi faking his death every 15 minutes._ Then, Naruto did something so monumentally, unbelievably stupid, and just fucking walked into the dome of mirrors. I was so dismayed, I didn’t even notice Haku slip back into the mirrors until he resumed his assault.

Senbon rained down on them from every angle, they weren’t even able to weave any hand signs. _I can’t believe I let my window of opportunity close like that. He’ll be on guard now, and even if he wasn’t, he caught my kunai like it was nothing. But… he seems to be landing less hits on Sasuke now. He’s actually dodging his attacks!_ My eyes shifted towards Naruto. _That means, his next target…_

I quickly ran through the necessary seals.

**Substitution.**

 

** Sasuke pov  **

I could see his movements, they were still fast, but I was quickly adapting. _If I can just move faster, this guy won’t stand a chance. I can beat him._

His next attack caught me by surprise. It was different from the others, _he’s been toying with me this whole time._ “I will kill the softness in my heart.” The soft words barely registered as the senbon were directed at Naruto. My feet moved on their own. _He can’t._

The world faded and twisted, I felt a sharp pull at my chakra. I blinked. And when I opened my eyes, I was outside the reflective prison. White and brown fell agonizingly slow, three needles sticking out, drops of blood frozen in the air.

It was too quiet when it hit the ground. _What happened…_

And just as suddenly, everything seemed to happen in a blur, hot red chakra pouring out into the air, the mirrors shattered as Naruto’s fist met the hunter’s mask, sending him flying.

I was briefly aware of Tazuna speaking, his words hushed, oddly sedate compared to the brash drunkard he’d been when we met. His hand in mine, _when did that happen,_ as we jogged over to the still form. He let go as I kneeled in front of _it. It feels so cold._

_I was about to give up everything to save that idiot, my dream, my destiny, and then you just come in and…_

 

**_“You looked like you needed help”_ **

 

My eyes felt hot, vision blurred by collecting tears. _Is this what I looked like to you that day?_

 

**“Phantom’s Mirage”**

A hand came up to my face, brushing the tears away. Silver eyes met mine, a faint smile crossed his face. “Don’t look so glum, Sasu-tan.” His voice light and airy. His yukata lay between us, the senbon pinning it to the ground.

“You’re really breaking that thing in, huh.” I was surprised by the clarity of my voice, half expecting it to come out rough and unintelligible. 

He laughed, “Yeah, I guess so. But, it’s nothing that can’t be fixed.”

 

If Kagame’s jutsu was surprising, then Gato’s betrayal and subsequent death at Zabuza’s hands were mind-blowing. _What kind of idiot would try to kill off a Jonin with petty thugs?_ Even if there were a lot them, Zabuza was able to cut through them with just a kunai in his mouth. _I’d hate to see how many would have been cut in half if he could still swing that monstrosity he calls a sword._

And then to top things off, Naruto somehow inspired that little brat to raise an army. _Not that we really need one, now that Zabuza is dead and all._

 

The people of wave raided Gato’s mansion after they had driven off the rest of his thugs. Tazuna paid the remaining balance for an A rank mission. Naruto’s eyes lit up when he saw the money, but quickly fell when Kakashi told him that he’d have to wait for us to get back to the village just to receive a portion of it.

** Kagame pov  **

We stayed in Wave for a few more days while the bridge was finished. The atmosphere was completely different. I remembered how somber things were, when I had gone to the market with Tazuna there had been so many beggars. The people had looked utterly hopeless, waiting for death to come, as if it were a blessing. Now things seemed much more lively, people were lining up wagons filled with Gato’s ill gotten gains, ready to travel across the bridge to sell them.

When we arrived at the bridge we were all surprised to see the sign Tazuna had erected. “You’ve brought hope to our land, for the first time in years we can finally control our own destiny. You’ve lit a spark in our people’s hearts. So to commemorate this occasion, we’ve named this bridge, ‘The Great Naruto Bridge.’” _They named it after Naruto! What about the rest of us! And for that matter, you might as well have just called it the Great Zabuza Bridge. Even after everything he did, he was still the one who actually killed Gato._

I turned to look at the red head next to me. His eyes twinkling. _I’m never going to hear the end of this…_

  
Our trip back to Konoha was rather uneventful, Naruto blathered on about how awesome he was and how he was going to tell Iruka all about his new bridge. Sasuke had been quieter than usual. He didn’t even get into any fights with Naruto. He’d look away whenever I tried to make eye contact with him. _I guess my little stunt with Haku didn’t go over as well as I thought. That being said… Naruto’s chakra back there… something had changed, it was red, hot, wild, angry. It felt too much like yoki. What kind of secrets are you hiding. What do all the villagers in Konoha know that I don’t?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagame's phantom's mirage isn't quite like Miria's from Claymore. Kagame doesn't have the experience in manipulating his yoki to use it for such a thing. But, he does have a good enough grasp of chakra to recreate it, in a way. So he combined a low level genjutsu along with the body flicker to create his own version.
> 
> And if anyone's wondering about the nightmare scene, Kagame just used his chakra to alter which pathways were firing to alter Sasuke's senses. In other words, he used a genjutsu.


	12. Cleaning House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team seven cleans Naruto's apartment. And maybe other stuff happens too.

“All in all, I’d say our punishment was pretty lenient.” Naruto and Sasuke, however, seemed to think otherwise.

“Are you kidding me! Our first mission out of the village and the old man puts us in time out!” Naruto shrieked.

“Don’t say it like that. It makes us sound like kids.” Sasuke said.

“Well that’s what he’s treating us like!”

“Well yeah, but you could at least say we’re on suspension. And anyway, it’s only four days.” I interjected.

“But four days is such a long time!” Naruto whined.

“And they won’t let Kakashi even train us.” Sasuke added.

“And we won’t get any cool missions for three months!”

“Well, I can count on one hand the number of times Kakashi actually taught us anything, so it’s not that big of a deal. And we get to keep the A rank on our official transcript! None of the other teams can say that much!” I countered.

“Still, what are we supposed to do for four whole days!” Naruto complained.

“So you forgot already then?” I asked.

Sasuke made a face of disgust before answering, “That’s right, we promised to clean that dump you live in.”

Naruto ducked his head sheepishly and chuckled. “Oh yeah, that.” _I expected him to get mad when we brought it up. Though I guess since his apartment looked like it belonged in the poverty stricken wave country, he must be feeling pretty ashamed._

“I’m gonna drop off my stuff first at my place, I’ll meet you guys at Uzamaki’s in an hour.”

Sasuke settled for his noncommittal “Hn” before we parted ways.

 

**Sasuke pov**

When Kagame arrived he was without his yukata, instead wearing a mesh shirt covered by a black tank top.

I looked down as he handed me rubber gloves and a surgical mask with a frown drawn on. “You’ll be needing this if we’re gonna spend the rest of the day in… _There._ ” He finished with a scowl on his face.

Naruto frowned slightly, but didn’t comment as he was handed gloves and a mask with a cat face on it. “I know you’re probably used to the smell Uzumaki, but you’ll need this for when we start working with bleach.”

“We’ll start with opening all the windows to help air the place out, and then work on bagging all the trash. Then we’ll we move on to cleaning the floor. Whatever we don’t finish today, we can do tomorrow.” He said before donning his own mask with a question mark drawn on.

 

It was nearing sundown when we called it a day. We’d managed to bag all of the garbage and take it to his complex’s dumpster. Kagame had to take a break every hour or so to get fresh air, even with wearing his mask. _His sense of smell must be more keen than ours._ But as we removed more of the trash, the odor had started to fade.

The worst thing we found in there was a live possum that had nested under the idiot’s bed… and another one in his pantry. But they weren’t too hard to chase out, in fact they were actually a lot more tame than that stupid cat, Tora.

We never did get around to mopping the floor, but with the possums- _and a small spider infestation we had discovered_ \- it couldn’t be helped.

At one point Kagame had tried to convince me to burn the place down with my fireball jutsu. And while it was certainly tempting, I don’t want the Hokage to extend our suspension because we were caught committing arson. Or risk Naruto moving into my place as some sort of sick punishment. I felt a shiver run down my spine at the mere thought.

There was one room which was surprisingly clean,- _other than having dirt on the floor_ \- an indoor garden. _Apparently the moron has a green thumb, who knew_.

 

**Kagame pov**

On the second day of our mandatory suspension, we began by mopping the floors, which didn’t take too long, luckily. So we moved onto the kitchen. I thought that yesterday would be the worst of it, but I was so wrong, at least in terms of terrible smells. In terms of time and effort, it wasn’t too bad.

It started fine, just washing his dishes and putting them away- _without finding any possums this time_. But then we got to the dreaded fridge. The minute Sasuke opened the door, I ran out of the apartment and proceeded to vomit over the railing. _So this is why Kakashi’s second rule is ‘don’t eat bad food’._  Apparently he left already expired milk in there for the entire length of the wave mission. Once we - _or rather Sasuke_ \- disposed of it, we found little else that needed to be thrown out. _Thank the gods for cup noodle, I don’t think I could’ve kept going if Naruto didn’t almost subsist wholly on the stuff._

Then we moved onto the bathroom, which was actually well taken care of, so we didn’t really do anything in there.

When we went on to laundry, there wasn’t anything that really stood out as _absolutely wretched,_ other than his sheets. And those had turned out to just be food stains. _Naruto enjoys eating in bed apparently._

I felt bad about my outburst at him before we left for wave. Now that the trash had all been taken out, it wasn’t as bad as I had thought. _But I already apologized for it, so if I brought it up again that would make things weird, right?_

“Um,”  _Screw it._ “I really am sorry, again. About, you know… What I said before wave.” _Jeez, who taught you how to apologize, that was a piss poor performance._ I bowed deeply before he could say anything. “Really, I am. It was uncalled for.”

“No, no, it’s fine, you were right it was a real pigsty, ya know.” He said waving his hands in defense.

“Still… I… At least the stuff about, sepsis and other stuff.” My words came out awkward and stilted.

“I’m a ninja now, believe it. So I gotta learn to take better care of myself. I’m not a little kid anymore.” He thumbed at his headband, tightly secured on his forehead.

Sasuke grunted, annoyance written on his features. “Can we leave now? There’s nothing else he needs help with and I don’t want to waste anymore time.”

“Oh yeah! Where do you have to go that’s so damn important, huh? We’re on suspension, ya know!” Naruto howled. _And just like that, things are back to normal._

 

**Naruto pov**

After the bastard left, it was just me and Kagame. So I asked if he wanted to go to Ichiraku’s with me. He was really quiet on the walk there, but he’s always really quiet. Even when we were in the academy he barely ever spoke a word to anyone except for Shikamaru, but I guess that’s why I like talking to him, I don’t have to worry about him trying to talk over me or telling me to shut up. _It’s like someone’s finally listening to me._

“So, Kaga-” the sentence died on my lips. He was gone. “Well fine, if you didn’t wanna hang out with me you shoulda just said so!” I stomped the rest of the way to Ichiraku’s by myself. _Stupid bastard, just disappears outta nowhere._

 

**Kagame pov**

I listened idly to Naruto chatter away as we walked to the ramen stand he’s so fond of when I noticed something felt… off. I turned to look as a man with a black cloak dotted in red clouds brushed past me. His face was obscured by a conical bamboo hat. I stopped in my tracks. _The way he moves is… ethereal._ Despite walking in a straight line, he seemed to sway side to side. People moved out of his way, no one even noticing as they parted to give him a wide berth.

I followed after him, there was just something about him that I felt drawn towards. Like warm strands of thread flowing through me, pulling me closer. My surroundings started to blur, until everything was swallowed up in a blue haze. Only the man I was following remained. His footsteps the only sound left, echoing in the void. I felt myself matching his pace, our steps in perfect sync, my chakra buzzing underneath my skin, heating up, like drinking warm tea in the winter. _I feel… so sleepy._ The strands of thread moving my limbs for me, like the strings of a puppet. I had no idea how long we were walking, but when we finally stopped my eyes closed unbidden. His hand rested on top of my head, the warmth of his chakra seeping deeper into my form. _He smells like… rain._ I could hear him saying something, but it came out muffled. My lips moved on their own, I couldn’t tell what it was I was saying, but I must have been answering him.

I felt him lean in close, the veil from his hat fluttering against my face, his breath hot against my ear. “Shouldn’t you get back to your friend, Kagame-kun?” his deep voice echoed in my head, as rippling violet eyes flashed through my mind.

 

**Naruto pov**

_That dumb jerk, ditching me like that. Who the hell does he think he is? If he didn’t wanna hang around me, then he shoulda just said so._ I was halfway through my second bowl of ramen when Kagame ducked in.

I shot him my best stink eye and asked, “What the hell do you want?” It didn’t come out as cool sounding as I woulda liked- _only cuz my mouth was full of noodles though_.

His eyes were a little glazed. He looked tired, _but he seemed fine when we left._ He bowed in that stupid way he always does before apologizing. “Sorry, I got a little sidetracked. I… ugh… ran into someone.”

“Yeah, well don’t just run off without telling me next time, jerk.” _That’s such a lame excuse, Kakashi-sensei must be rubbing off on him._

“I know, I didn’t think about it. I really am sorry, _Naruto-kun._ ” _What did he just call me?_

I felt my cheeks burn, “Yeah whatever, just don’t do it again, okay?” _It’s not like I forgive you or anything though._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well looks like Kagame fucked up.


	13. An Opportunity You Can't Pass Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids do some D ranks and meet the Sand Siblings. Plus, Sakura is there too. un-beta'd

Our suspension ended, and with it any chance of doing something other than D ranks. _It’s not that I mind the D ranks. It’s more like, I can’t stand what happens during them, over, and over, and over again._ For whatever reason, Sasuke and Naruto were at each other’s throats worse than ever before. Who can pull weeds the fastest, who can pick up the most trash, who can catch that damn cat first, who can finish painting their side of the house first. It was all so stupid and frustrating, because everytime it ended with _someone_ messing up monumentally. Sometimes we even failed and were refused payment.

And to top it off, Kakashi had returned to his perpetually late, and equally lazy, self. If it weren’t for the library, I’m sure I would have lost my mind already. _Though maybe I already have. I can’t seem to remember who it was I ran into the other day. I know it was someone important, but all I remember is walking with Naruto and then apologizing at the ramen stand._

 

**_“Shouldn’t you get back to your friend, Kagame-kun?”_ **

 

 _Who’s voice is…_ The thought was interrupted by a wave of warmth flowing through my body, washing away all my thoughts and worries. I felt _so calm and blissful. Like nothing matters at all._ **_Everything is just fine. It feels good to just let your mind drift and forget. Just relax and let everything wash away, Kagame-kun._ **

 

“Ugh, what’s with that look on your face?” Naruto’s question broke through the fog in my head.

My lips were twisted into a dreamy grin, my eyes hooded. “Oh, I guess I just zoned out for a minute.” I shook my head to clear the remnants of trance. _What the hell was that?_ I opened my eyes to find Naruto a lot closer to my face than I had realized, squinting in doubt. “I-I-I’m fine, really!” I reassured as I leaned away, hands up to try and placate him. _Haven’t you ever heard of personal space?_

“You’ve been doin’ it a lot lately. Are ya sure you’re okay?” Naruto pressed.

I crept back a few steps to get some distance and backed into someone. I turned to see Sasuke standing behind me. “When did you get here?”

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “I’ve been here, waiting for Kakashi, watching you stare blankly at the same tree, for the past three hours.”

 _Holy fuck._ “O-oh. That long, huh?” I replied weakly. “I guess, it’s just cuz we have to wait so long for Kakashi, that my brain just sort of shuts off.” I clearly wasn’t convincing either of them, but they decided to be silent on the matter. _Three. Whole. Fucking. Hours. That's not good, that's a lot of time to not be able to account for._

Naruto grinned mischievously, “So you’ve been watching Kagame for three hours, huh?”

“Shut up, idiot. It’s not like there’s anything else to do.” A faint blush dusted his cheeks.

“Ohhhh Sasuke-kun, I had no idea you had _those_ kinds of feelings.” Kakashi’s sudden appearance elicited a yelp of surprise from all of us.

“I thought you were supposed to be an elite shinobi, not a child.” Sasuke retorted.

“A lot of people tend to make that mistake. Too bad they’re all wrong. I have a lot of young Kunoichi to spread this juicy gossip to.” His eye crinkled as he spoke.

“Just tell us what we’re doing today.” Sasuke sighed.

“Aww, you’re no fun. Well, we’re going to do more of those D ranks you all love so much.”

Naruto groaned as we trudged our way towards Hokage tower.

“So… Could you guys try to, I don’t know, not get into a pissing race this time?” I asked.

“Pissing contest.” Kakashi corrected.

“What’s the difference?”

“It’s just the proper turn of phrase.”

“How do you turn a phrase?” Naruto asked.

“You don’t actually- it’s just another way to say things. A manner of speaking.” Kakashi said exasperated.

“I still don’t get what’s wrong with pissing race.” I interjected.

“There’s nothing **wrong** with it, it’s just not what people say.”

“So wait, you don’t want us to see who can piss faster? That’s not even something we do. Even I’m not that gross.” Naruto added.

Kakashi sighed loudly as he took out his book to hide his face.

“No, it means I don’t want you and Sasuke to get into your stupid fights, you know, like you always do. Right before we get yelled at and told to leave.” I explained.

“Well maybe that wouldn’t happen if Sasuke wasn’t such a smug jerk.” He muttered under his breath.

“Or maybe it’s because you’re such a hopeless clown.” Sasuke replied.

“What the hell did you just say!?” _Today’s gonna be long, even without those three hours._

 

I was right. _I kind of hate it when I’m right_. Naruto had decided he wanted to walk the biggest dog to prove he was a big shot, or something equally as stupid I’m sure. The dog ended up dragging him through a minefield not even 30 minutes into their walk.  _How the hell did he even find a minefield!_

I would have intervened, but for some reason dogs have never really liked me, so I was stuck on the sidelines the whole time with Kakashi.

Naruto was... somewhat okay though. A little charred, but he could still walk, mostly. Sasuke and I had to support him the whole way to the Hokage tower. But he still wanted to act like he was a tough man, so I convinced him that it was what _I wanted_ , even though my stomach was turning from the mixture of chemical vapor and his ramen smell.

It was on our way back from the mission report that Sasuke decided a little tormenting was in order. “You really are just one big problem.”

Naruto broke out from my grip to retaliate. “Oh, yeah Sasuke!” He reeled his arm back for a punch before I stuck my arm out in front of him.

“Naruto, if you keep this up I might just decide to finish you off myself.” I said calmly.

“I guess we’re not making a lot of progress on teamwork then.” Kakashi sighed.

“Yeah! Ya hear that Sasuke, you’re ruining the team! You think you’re better than everyone else?” Naruto shouted at his retreating form.

“Not everyone, just you. Face it, I’m better and stronger than you are. It’s just a fact.” He turned around before finishing, “Unless you think you can prove otherwise.”

The two of them stared each other down before Kakashi sighed, “Alright guys, let's call it a day. You can beat each other to a pulp some other time.”

“Whatever, I’m out of here.” Sasuke returned to his walk home.

_They’re actually getting along worse than before. Did something happen in wave that I missed? Or is it related to that mysterious power Naruto has?_

After Kakashi poofed away in a cloud of smoke, I decided I should be getting home too. I still had to figure out who-

A gust of wind blew past as chilling presence made itself known. _Thinly layered killing intent. Absolute bloodlust. Hatred of all things._

 

**Naruto pov**

I was really mad about what Sasuke had said to me, _no one even tried to defend me or put him into his place_. But I quickly forgot about that when I ran into Sakura. She was looking pretty down herself, and I didn’t see anyone else around with her.

“Ugh, hey Sakura. How’s your team been? Mine kind of sucks.” I felt so nervous, _she might not talk to me at all now that we’re not in the academy together_.

I was surprised when she actually answered me. “My squad hates me and they don’t even try to talk to me. I don’t know anything about them, and whenever I try to get to know them they don’t even try to come up with an excuse before blowing me off.”

“Wow that sounds pretty rough. I kinda get how you feel though.”  _I really, really know how you feel._

“Yeah, that’s actually what I thought when they kept on cutting me out.” Her vivid green eyes met mine. “Look, I’m sorry that I was always so rude to you before. I guess this is my punishment for not being nicer.”

“Hey don’t worry about it Sakura! You're a great person! I actually wanted to be on a team with you when they were calling our names. But instead I had to get stuck with that bastard Sasuke.”

Her stance shifted as her eyebrow started to twitch. “Sasuke is a million times better than Hatsume and Shinichi! He’s strong, and cool, and talented, and he’s the best shinobi from our class! He was even the rookie of the year, you know! I’d give anything to be on his team!”

“He’s always trying to one up me and show off! He thinks he’s better than everyone else!”

“Well he kind of is better than everyone else, weren’t you listening to what I just said?” her voice no longer held the same anger, it was more like _an underlying bitterness_.

 _Why does she like him so much, I don’t get it._ I noticed a large rectangle of rock move towards me. _What the hell is up with that?_

 

 _Why did Konohamaru and his friends have to show up now of all times! They made me look stupid in front of Sakura and then pissed her off. If she catches us we’re dead. She’s got the strongest punch out of all the girls in the academy and I really don’t wanna get hit again._ My cheek throbbed just thinking about it as we ran down the alley, Sakura chasing after us.

We came to a stop as Konohamaru ran into someone. “You need something?” The guy was weird looking, wearing some kind of full body suit with cat ears on the hood.

 

**Kagame pov**

I arrived in the middle of an alley, staring at the scene before me. Naruto, a bunch of kids, Sakura, and sand nin? _That presence was definitely coming from here, but it’s not any of them, not even the sand nin threatening… The grandson of old man third?!_

I pushed past Naruto to confront him, “Do you know who that is you have there?”

He sneered at me, “Why the hell should I care who he is? He’s just some punk who thought he could disrespect me.”

A rock shot through the air, striking the sand nin in the hand, causing him to drop Konohamaru. We all turned to see who had thrown it, sitting in a nearby tree was Sasuke, tossing a rock up and down before grinding it to dust in his hand. _But where the hell is that aura coming from?_

The sand nin took off the strange bundle he was carrying, eliciting a response from the female nin at his side, “You’re using the crow for this?!”

“Kankuro, your embarrassing yourself.” The raspy voice came from a figure hanging upside down in the same tree as Sasuke. The moment I laid eyes on him, I knew it was him I had felt. _How’s this possible, he can’t be older than we are._

“I-I-I-I’m sorry Gaara, th-they were the ones who challenged us.” Kankuro stuttered. _His own ally is terrified of him._

“Shut up. Or I’ll kill you.” He threatened.

Kankuro swiftly shut his mouth, too scared to say anything else. _Is this how Suna keeps it’s shinobi in line, with fear and death threats?_

“I’m sorry, for any trouble he caused.” _At least this Gaara guy has manners_. His body turned to sand and reconfigured in the road. “Let’s go. We didn’t come here to play games.”

 

I’m so glad they didn’t notice me. I’d hate to get that Gaara guy’s attention. But the others didn’t sense what I did. If they had, they wouldn’t be so… excited. We decided to hold a team meeting, plus Sakura, minus the Konohamaru gang. Though the brats did complain about it, _despite their little leader nearly biting it not even ten minutes earlier_.

“So do you guys think Kaka-sensei will enter us in the exams?” Naruto asked gleefully.

“I don’t claim to know anything _that man_ thinks. But I can tell you everything I know about the exams.” I answered.

“Wait, you have information on the exams!” Sakura interrupted.

“Yeah, but it’s stuff you could find out just by asking someone who took them before. And doing a bit of reading, I guess. To start off, the villages involved change every time, along with which village hosts the exams, and the actual tests themselves. They take place every six months usually, though there have been instances where the exams were cancelled. The host villages are, Konoha (leaf), Suna (sand), Taki (waterfall), Yu (hot water), and Yuma (dreams). There doesn’t seem to be any kind of rotation schedule though, so I’m not sure how they choose the host village.

“There are three exams each. The first is usually a test of some kind, most of the time it’s written.” Naruto made a sour face. “The second is survival, but outside of that, I don’t know the details. The third is a big tournament where people from all different lands come to watch. You have to pass the first and second exams to enter, but you technically don’t have to win even a single battle in the tournament to be promoted. The final say is left to the discretion of the kage. So you could beat every single opponent and still remain a genin if it’s what lord third says.”

Sakura was the first to speak up, “If our sensei’s sign us up, do we have to participate?”

Naruto gasped, “Sakura, why wouldn’t you wanna be in the exams. It’s gonna be our best shot to show off all our cool ninja skills to everybody.”

“I just don’t know if I’m ready for it. We’ve only been genin for a few months. There’ll be ninja there who are a lot more experienced than we are. It could be really dangerous.”

“I’m not scared of nothing. I’ll fight anyone who stands in my way, believe it!”

I cleared my throat, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. But we should try and consider all the factors in play.”

“What do ya mean by that?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke answered, “He means if you don’t take the exam this year, then what? Because there’s no schedule the exams could happen in any of the villages Kagame listed. None of which we’ve actually been to yet. We have the advantage this year when it comes to the second exam. How often will we be able to say that?”

“Sasuke’s right. Think about if the next exam is in Suna. None of us are really suited to travel in a desert environment, we don’t know anything about the plants or animals there, or the best way to collect water. In addition to that, it’s a lot easier to get spotted there because there isn’t anywhere to hide.

“And there’s a factor you’re not considering right now. The competition. Since the exams take place here this time, that means more leaf nin will be entering than any other group of shinobi. But when the exams take place elsewhere, the same will be said about the host village’s shinobi. If you encounter shinobi from your own village, they probably won’t even think of killing you. But if you encounter shinobi from another village, there are no rules forbidding killing your opponent, so there’s a significantly higher chance they might decide that simply beating you isn’t enough. If you want to stack the odds in your favor, it’s best to enter the exams when they take place in your own village.” I explained.

“I think I get it. You’re saying this is an advantage that we might not have again for years.” Sakura said, conflict written across her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think in the comments.


	14. Out of Control and Jumping to Conclusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagame has a harsh reminder that he's not exactly human. And his team makes a few assumptions.

_She was whispering. She’s so far away. There’s nothing. There’s always nothing. What is she saying?_

“I remember.”

_Remember what?_

“It doesn’t work on me. I’ll always remember. Even when you don’t.”

_What are you…_

**“We are not human beings.”**

“We can be so much more”

**“You can not falter, not even for a moment.”**

My skin felt tight, impossibly tight. Stretching against bone and muscle. Tearing. Splitting. Ripping. _It hurts._ I can feel **_it_** **.** Crawling inside me. _It itches. I can’t reach it. No matter how hard I scratch. All that comes out is blood._

“I am you. You are me. Let’s be _ourself, just for a little bit_.”

_Ourself?_

“I remember him. Even if you can’t. Because tricks like that don’t work on me.”

_What are you talking about?_

“I’ll give you a little hint.”

Rippling purple eyes stared back at mine.

 

I opened my eyes, yoki snapping back in on itself like a rubber band, shrinking back into a tight little ball in my stomach. I was laying on the floor, a tangled mess of limbs and sheets. A metallic taste in my mouth. I withdrew from the sheets and stood. The once white sheets pooled around my ankles, spotted with red. My arms sticky with crimson, my nails dirty, caked in dried blood. I was surprised to find it was actually daylight out. _I never sleep this late._ I looked at my clock to find out it was already past 9:00. _Oh fuck, I’m late._

 _On the other hand. My sensei is Kakashi, so I’m not technically late if he hasn’t arrived yet. I think._ I entered my bathroom and swished water around my mouth before spitting into the sink. Red liquid circled around and slipped down the drain. _Oh. Well that can’t be good._ I looked up to see the mirror had several cracks running through it. My reflections stared back at me, broken, faces split. Streaks of blood and red handprints on my cheeks, hair matted and tangled. _I can not go anywhere like this._

I took off what remained of my now shredded nightwear. _I’ll have to throw that out later. And maybe buy some new sheets. Definitely buy a new bathroom mirror. I hope I didn’t ruin anything else during my night time escapades. Or, god forbid, go outside like that._ I stepped into the shower and ran the water. It was cold against my too hot skin. Red running liberally down my flushed skin. _This is just another challenge to overcome. People’s bodies change at this age. It’s perfectly normal._

Pale, silvery lines dotted my shoulders, thighs, and abdomen. There were no scabs or open wounds though. _The one thing I actually like about yoki. The only thing that lingers are scars and stretch marks._

 

Though I was now later than I’ve ever been to anything in my life, I couldn’t bring myself to move quickly. I felt lightheaded as I made my way to our unofficial meeting spot, my pace sedate, limbs heavy. _It feels like I’m wading through water._

_Maybe I could just lay down for a few minutes. Rest my eyes a bit._

 

**Sasuke pov**

For the first time ever since our mission to wave, Kakashi actually arrived before someone else. “Hello my cute little- wait where’s the third one?”

“Aw, see! Even Kakashi-sensei is here now! That has to mean something! He’s never late!” Naruto crowed. “Can we please go look for him now?” He pleaded.

“You don’t know that anything’s happened. He probably just got sick of waiting all the time and decided not to show up.” I reasoned.  _But that's not like him, it's closer to something Naruto would do._

“This could be something really serious, ya know! What if he was kidnapped by enemy shinobi! Or killed!”

“Now, Naruto. I’m sure you’re just overreacting. If we go to Kagame’s house, I’m sure we’ll find him there.” Kakashi soothed.

 

As it turned out, we didn’t have to travel that far before finding him, lying against a tree. His skin was florid, hair wet, obi tied messily, yukata pooling around his shoulders. He looked, _so utterly surreal, like a painting come to life. He and Naruto, they have all these moments, where they get to be human, not just shinobi._ A pang of longing swept through my chest.

Kakashi knelt in front of him and gently shook him awake. “Morning sleepy head. I wasn’t aware we could just take naps out in the forest now.”

Kagame blinked the sleep from his eyes. “Kakashi-sensei?” He looked confused for a moment before his eyes widened in shock. “Holy fuck I’m late!” He tried to stand before grabbing his side and hissing. My body instantly tensed.

“Kagame are you alright?” Naruto rushed to his side, hands hovering, unsure of what he should do.

“I’m fine Naruto. Really. I’m just a little stiff. I haven’t done my morning stretches today.”

“It probably doesn’t help that you’re sleeping outside rather than, oh I don’t know, in a bed.” Kakashi teased.

Kagame let out a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. His yukata slipped even more, revealing his torso. He wasn’t wearing anything underneath of it today. Silvery lines and deep purple splotches littered the overly red skin.

Naruto resumed his shouting as Kakashi’s singular eye widened. “Kagame, what happened to you! Were you attacked? Where are the guys who did this? I’ll show em that nobody messes with team seven, believe it!”

He covered back up, retying his obi. “N-nn-no it’s not like that.”  _Sleeping outside, distracted when we meet, covered in scars and bruises..._

“Then tell me, what is it like.” Kakashi’s tone left no room to argue.

His eyes darted down, his lips set in a thin line. “I-”

“You’ve been training out here, haven’t you.” He looked up at me in surprise. “I thought something was up with you lately. I had almost figured it out yesterday, when you were just sitting there. You didn’t move at all for three whole hours, not even reacting to Naruto’s incessant chatter or writing in your notebook like you usually do. You were here the whole time, training. The Kagame that had been waiting with us had just been an illusion.” He looked away from me, guilt crossing his face. _I can't believe it took me so long. We almost died in wave, I was stupid to think I was the only one affected. The stress for the exams must have made it even worse for him._

Kakashi let out a sigh. “And here I thought it would be Sasuke who would push himself too far. Looks like I owe Kurenai some money now.”

“Wait a minute! What about the time in wave when I was sleeping in the forest!” Naruto demanded.

“Well you certainly were dirty and exhausted, Naruto, but you didn’t push yourself to the point of breaking.” His eye never leaving Kagame as he spoke.

“But now that we’re all here, I thought I would make a special announcement.” Kakashi pulled out three slips of paper from nowhere and handed them to us. “In one weeks time the chunin selection exams will begin. I have nominated all three of you to participate.”

“Yeah, we already know about the exams. Kagame told us all about em yesterday.” Naruto interrupted.

Kakashi’s gaze became more piercing as Kagame squirmed under his scrutiny. “Oh did he now? Well it’s certainly more convenient with you already being informed then. Alright, if you decide to enter the exams, then meet at the academy in room 301, one week from today at 12:00. You’ll turn in your entrance forms there.

“And Kagame. Take the next week to rest up. That means no training at all. Your body will need the time to recuperate. Until then, my little minions.” He disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving us alone.

I walked over to Kagame, who was still refusing to look at me, and picked him up bridal style. He let out a yelp of either surprise or pain. It was kind of hard to tell.

“W-w-what are you doing?” He breathed.

“What do you think?” I replied.

“Yeah, sensei said you were on bedrest, so we’ll take care of everything, believe it.” Naruto added.

It was hard to tell with his current complexion, but I think his face looked even redder than it was before. He sputtered, trying, and failing, to come up with some kind of argument before Naruto interrupted him again.

“It’s just like we learned during the bell test. We’re a team and we’re all in this together.”

“And... We haven’t exactly been the best of teammates lately. We were too busy fighting to realize that you needed us.” I added, feeling just as embarrassed as Kagame looked.

 

We got a lot of stares on the way back to Kagame’s home. Especially when we passed by team ten. I thought the Yamanaka girl was gonna faint. It felt oddly satisfying to see their jaws hanging open like that, stunned into silence.

When we arrived at his apartment, it looked like a murder had happened. “What the hell happened here Kagame? It looks terrible!” Naruto shouted.

His kitchen table had been knocked over, along with the chairs, there was a trail of blood on the floor, clothes that were torn to shreds, and his bedsheets were stained red. I fought to keep my grip from tightening.  _It's too much like that night. The smell is almost suffocating._

“Well it looks like you’re the one who needs help cleaning now, eh _Kagame-kun_?” Naruto said with an impish grin.

Kagame responded with a groan as he covered his face in his hands.  _You did this all on your own, to yourself. And for how long? If we didn't find out, what would you have done?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up next chapter, the chunin exams. Maaaayyybeeeee.  
> Have any questions? Feel free to comment below.


	15. Before the exam: part one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's a very short and a kind of weird chapter starting off the first day in the week leading up to the chunin exams.

I can feel it. Intertwining with muscle, spreading from up my arm and into my chest, tangled in my ribs. Thorns wriggling, waiting to grow, unfurl.

The sensation dissipated after I woke up. I blinked the sleep from my eyes and slowly shifted til I was sitting at the edge of my bed.

“I’m alone.” The soft words escaped my lips, swallowed up by the dark, empty room. The first rays of morning light slipped through the blinds of my window.

 _My skin feels dry and itchy, tight_. I can’t help but scratch, skin flaking off as my nails rake across again and again. But the itching just spreads until it encompasses my whole body. I hurriedly pulled off my shirt and shorts; I continued seeking relief from the prickling sensation as I traipsed over to the bathroom. I stared into the mirror for what felt like a long time, my hands falling to my sides. My skin looked… _bad. Actually, bad is probably an understatement._ It was flaking all over, even my face had the telltale off-white clusters dotting it.

I reached up and hooked my nails underneath and began peeling it off. _Like a spider shedding its exoskeleton, or… maybe more like a snake._ Long strips of discarded skin soon littered the floor, there’s something… cathartic about it. The newly revealed layer of skin looked smooth and pink. I gently ran my hand over my thigh, gliding lightly against it. A pleasant tingling sensation spreading throughout.

I jerked my hand back as I heard a knock coming from the front door.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, shit, god damn it, fuck!_

I quickly close the bathroom door, panic shooting through me. _Oh god, who the fuck could be here. I don’t even talk to my fucking neighbors. And the only other people who know where I live… Oh fuck. It’s my team. I can’t let them see me like this!_

I gathered up the skin and stuffed it inside the small trash can under the sink as the knocking became more intense. I could hear muffled shouting that sounded like Naruto. _He better not wake up the neighbors, I’ve spent seven years avoiding them, and I don’t plan on meeting any of them anytime soon._ I looked down at my naked form. _Especially not like this._

 _Okay, no, it’s fine. Focus._ I calmly left the bathroom and reentered my bedroom, closing the door to the living room just in time to hear the front door open. _I really should have locked it last night. What kind of a shinobi can’t even do that? It’s just begging for trouble._

Naruto’s voice boomed, “Kagame! I’m here to check on you! So don’t like, stab me in the eyes or anything!”

“I’m in the bedroom! I’ll be out in a few minutes!” I called back.

I settled on a loose fitting tank top and leggings before opening the door to face him.

“Wow, you look way better than yesterday! I was kinda scared when we found you passed out. I thought someone attacked you or somethin.”

“I’m sorry to worry you all like that.” I began to bow before Naruto put his hands up.

“You don’t gotta keep doing that, ya know. We’ve been on the same team for months now, so… That means that we’re friends. Right?”

I quirked my eyebrows in surprise, “Ummm… Yeah, I guess we are.”

“So friends don’t have to apologize like that, it’s too serious. It’s like you’re saying sorry to a stranger. And… Sasuke was way more scared than I was anyway.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. _Sasuke, was worried about me?_

Naruto thrust forward one of his arms, a plastic bag hanging in front of him. “Anyway, I got you takeout. I figured you’d probably be hungry when you woke up, and you barely have anything good in your fridge… So here.”

“Oh… You shouldn’t have.” I forced a smile as I accepted the heavy bag filled with enough containers to feed even Naruto for a few days. _You really shouldn’t have. It’ll take me forever to get through this, even if I stuff myself to bursting._

“I may have gone a little overboard," he let out a nervous chuckle. "But I thought since Sensei told you to take the week off, you wouldn’t be getting out much. And, um… I didn’t really know what you liked so I got some stuff from all over.”

“Not that I’m ungrateful, but isn’t that kind of expensive?” _Especially when you’re probably the poorest member of our team. I mean sure we're all orphans, but Sasuke has whatever inheritance from his clan and I've barely spent half of the money I've gotten from my monthly stipends during the academy. Though not eating really tends to help with that kind of thing._

“A little, but I’ve been saving up. And I still have all the pay from our A rank. So it’s not that big a deal.” He flashed a smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

His smile faltered for a moment. I followed his gaze to my exposed shoulder. Eyes tracing the twisted lines of red and white flesh branching out from my under arm. “You don’t have to worry about me really. Those are just stretch marks.” _Not technically a lie._ “Um… anyway… thank you, Naruto.”

“Ummmm, yeah. Don’t mention it. I promised Konohamaru I would play ninja with him and his friends, so I gotta go. But I promise I’ll stop by tomorrow, ya know.”

My lips quirked upward, a small smile forming. “I’d like that. And if you see Sasuke, you should invite him over too. I don’t think I can finish all this food by myself after all.” I paused to take a sniff. “And don’t worry, I’ll save the ramen for you.”

“All right! It’s a date then! I-I-I I MEAN NOT- NOT A DATE. JUST- UGH- A TEAM DINNER-YEAH.” His face turned an obnoxious shade of red before he bolted for the door. “See ya then, bye.”

I opened my fridge to put away the generous amount of food, there was plenty of room for it as I only had some fruit and bottled water (both regular and assorted vitamin varieties) stored within. Before closing the fridge, I pulled out the nearest bottle of dragonfruit vitamin water and found a paw print pattern sticky note attached.

 

_You should really take better care of yourself._

_-Kakashi_

 

 _I guess he has only seen me eat ration bars and ramen. He probably thinks I live off of them. Though I guess he’s not technically wrong? Hmmm. But I don’t wanna waste money on food I won’t eat._ I let out a sigh, shoulders slumping. _Being human sure is hard._

I headed over to my closet as I chugged my water. _No matter what yoki might do to my body, it still can’t quench thirst._ I put my weapons pouch into place before tying a black yukata around my waist. _I can’t train, but that doesn’t mean I have to stay in here all day either._

I took the trash bag out of my bathroom and tied it shut, making a point not to dwell on the fact that it was filled mostly with my own skin. _Better to take care of this now, than later._

 


	16. Before the exam: part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma discuss their kids, and Kakashi learns even more surprising facts about Kagame, who was supposed to be his easy student he shouldn't have to worry about.

**3rd person pov**

Jounin HQ was rather empty today. Though it shouldn’t be surprising since so many sensei were with their teams trying to squeeze in as much last minute training as possible to prepare their genin. What was surprising though was that Kakashi Hatake was currently in the building, reading Icha Icha while lounging on the couch in the break room. It was quite a rare sight for him to be anywhere near the building in fact, as he wasn’t exactly the most sociable of shinobi under Konoha’s employ. But, currently he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. He and the other two sensei for the rookie nine were currently sequestered in the room so Iruka could test their students individually before they could be allowed to apply for the exams.

“So. Do you think your students are truly ready for these exams? Or is this all some kind of charade to boost your own ego?” Kurenai asked, not looking up from her nails as she filed them.

The question wasn’t specifically directed at Kakashi, but he knew it most likely was intended for him. “Well for your information, my students are all quite capable of handling themselves, but if things do turn sour… well it’ll at least be a good learning experience.”

Kurenai raised her brow at the statement. “Really? Because not even two hours ago you gave me 3,000 ryo for losing our little bet on who on your team would crack first.”

“So how did you know it’d be that silver eyed kid?” Asuma interjected.

She turned her gaze towards him to answer, “I met him during the whole Uchiha debacle. He was the first to stumble onto the massacre. But he didn’t seem that affected by it. Not even an interrogation from Ibiki could get under his skin-.”

“Hold on. Ibiki? As in Ibiki Morino? Terrifying inhuman monster from T&I?”

“And why is this the first I’m hearing of it? I am his sensei, shouldn’t lord third have told me about something like that?” Kakashi demanded.

“One question at a time boys. Yes that Ibiki, and the information is probably in Kagame’s file, but as I’m saying this I get the feeling you didn’t read it did you?”

“Well… I may have skimmed it, but to be fair, none of my teams have ever passed my test before.” Kakashi responded weakly.

“So why didn’t you pick it back up after they passed? It has been three months you know.” Kurenai reprimanded.

“Well… He’s just been so easy to deal with up until now… And what with Naruto and Sasuke… and their issues… I assumed he was well adjusted.”

"Just because a child is mature, doesn't mean they're well adjusted. In fact, they tend to have rather serious problems buried deep down. When he didn't react like a normal child would to _an interrogation over a massacre_ , that was when I knew there was something wrong with the kid." Kurenai turned to Asuma, ready to change the subject after thoroughly shaming Kakashi. “So how about your team?”

Asuma shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. “Well I mean, Shikamaru should be ready, but he’s so hard to motivate sometimes. I’m not sure if he’ll get to the final exam simply because he might get bored and quit. As for Ino, she’s been progressing really nicely, but I’m worried she might not be able to fight to her full capacity with the drawbacks to the Yamanaka technique. And then with Choji, he’s more motivated by food than anything else and he doesn’t seem to want to fight anyone either. So it’ll be most challenging for him. But I think if they can all put their minds to it, they should be able to get pretty far.”

Kurenai smiled softly. “That’s good to hear. As for my own team. I’m pretty confident they’ll do well. The only one I’m worried about is Hinata. She’s still dealing with a lot of issues involving her clan and lacks self confidence as a result. Though when she’s training, it’s like she’s a completely different person, if she can show that tenacity and commitment in the exams, I know she could make it to the finals.”

 _Well don’t count my kids out yet. They still need some refinement, but they’ll make it through the first and second exams just fine. And Sasuke will definitely make it to the semi-finals._ Kakashi thought to himself, burying his nose back into his book as he tuned out the rest of the conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying out 3rd person pov in this chapter. I'm not sure about it. I just didn't really know if I could pull of first person from any of the characters present in this chapter.


	17. Before the exam: part three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow! A fight scene! It's been awhile since we had one of those!

I had made my way to the river where my team usually meets unconsciously. _I guess I’m so used to going here everyday that I didn’t even notice._ I shed my yukata and waded into the shallow waters, letting the cool liquid rise up to my waist. _Konoha summers are just too hot, and my yoki certainly isn’t making things easy._ I dropped down to my knees, the water splashing from my sudden movement. The coolness soaking into my too warm skin as it settled around my neck. I began circulating my chakra through my body, pushing the yoki out of my pathways and centering it in my core. _I need to try and keep it under wraps if I’m going to participate in the exams._

I sat there for hours, feeling the flow of the river against my side. My chakra was brought down significantly from the constant circulation. But it felt kind of nice, it had been awhile since I had really exhausted my reserves like this. And so peacefully at that too. _Things had been so hectic lately, I don’t think I’ve really let myself unwind_.

My eyes snapped open as I bolted to the left, a kunai flying past my head by mere centimeters. I spun around to see my assailant. He was a rain shinobi judging by his hat and strange jumpsuit. His clothes were baggy and covered him from head to toe, the only visible part of his body were his eyes, which were strangely blank. _No identifying characteristics._

My eyes darted to my yukata by the shore. _If I use that…_ I rushed forward, narrowly dodging a barrage of senbon, my body slowed down by the weight of the coursing river. I grabbed my yukata and waved it in front of me, obscuring my vision for just a moment. **Phantom’s mirage.**

I stood behind the shinobi as kunai pierced my yukata and I bolted towards him, palming my own kunai from my weapons pouch. But then he lashed out, spinning on his heel with a tanto in hand. I barely managed to duck underneath it before he struck downwards with another sword in his other hand. I rolled to the side as his blade sunk into the soft earth. _How did he know what I was going to do?_

“You have some surprisingly good reflexes, but I guess you are one of copycat Kakashi’s students.” _So that’s what this is about._

I slowly rose to my feet. “I’m not backing out of the exam.”

He laughed at that. “Well maybe one of your little friends will be more compliant.”

I felt a burst of yoki flow through me. My jaw clenched tight as I began to taste blood. That familiar itch returning to my eyes as the world sharpened in clarity. _Who the fuck do you think you are?_ **_“They wouldn’t lose to some third rate shinobi like you.”_ **

He stiffened for a moment, clearly surprised. My body moved on it’s own walking straight through him, as though he were only an illusion, but in reality I was still standing in place watching him. Chakra mixed with yoki, dark and heavy, hung through the air around me and twisted. **Elegance.**

I stood behind him and dragged my kunai against his neck without any resistance, smiling so wide it almost hurt.

 

**_Flesh tearing under my hand, blood spurting as it let out a final sickening breath, choking on it’s own fluids. Dirty, filthy, disgusting. Unwanted and unnecessary._ **

 

He disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced by a log, falling to the ground with a dull thud.

I raised my head and sniffed the air. The scent of ramen and sandalwood hit my nose. _He’s making this too easy._ **_I haven’t been on a hunt in ages._ **

I grabbed my yukata and began leaping through the trees, my limbs protesting as the itch turned into a burning fire running through my muscles. **_I’ll rip that son of a bitch open._ **

His scent trail led me into the village, I followed it as I jumped from rooftops until I got to an eerily silent section. There was no sound at all, we were still near the outskirts of the village though, _so he clearly doesn’t want to risk involving anyone else in the fight_.  ** _Fucking coward._**

I raised my nose, trying to find where his scent led, but all I could smell was dust and stale blood. I jumped down to street level, he had led me to an oddly deserted section of the village. And yet, somehow… it seemed familiar, not in the way the market district was familiar, more like... somewhere I hadn't been to in a long time.

“What are you doing here?”

I turned quickly, pointing the end of my kunai at the new voice. My eyes widened. “Sasuke.” My voice sounded rough.

I put my kunai away as the yoki drained from my body, receding into the pit of my stomach. Exhaustion starting to set in. I leaned in and inhaled his scent. _Smoke, like kindling wood._ He jumped back, wariness present in his eyes. After a moment that felt like an eternity, he relaxed. “So you’re back to yourself again.”

 _Back to… myself?_ “Sorry. I was attacked and I chased my assailant here…” I cut off as I looked behind Sasuke to see the Uchiha crest painted on the wall. _Oh… well I guess it is a good place to throw off a scent trail. But… how the hell would he know where this is if he was a foreign nin, not to mention there are certain areas off limits to visitors. And this place is definitely among them._

I snapped back to attention as I heard Sasuke call my name. His face lined with worry for just a moment, before returning to his stoic self. It wouldn’t have been noticeable if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve spent everyday by his side for the last few months. “You shouldn’t be out here.”

“Did you see him too? Earlier I mean. A shinobi from Amegakure? Or actually, let me rephrase that. A shinobi who _looked_ like he was from Amegakure?” My voice came out more like a whisper as my throat felt totally raw. Like I had been screaming for the last eight hours.

Sasuke’s face lit up in recognition. “I did, but what do you mean by ‘he looked like he was from Ame?’”

“I mean that he couldn’t have been from there, not if he knew the village well enough to lead me to the best place to throw off a scent trail- without going to a crowded location.”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed in anger. “So you’re saying it was someone from inside of Konoha? A leaf shinobi?” He sputtered.

I let out a sigh. “Yeah. It must have been some kind of test. To see if we were really up to the chunin exams.”

“Tch. An even bigger waste of time then.”

He turned around, ready to leave when I called out to him. “Wait. Why were you here, Sasuke?”

He stopped dead in his tracks. He refused to look back at me. He just stood there silently. I gulped before opening my mouth to speak again, “I’m sorry, that was too much. I shouldn’t pry.”

He didn’t answer, he continued to just stand there, completely unreadable. “Hn.”

“Ugh. Before I forget… Would you… Like to come to my place for dinner tonight? Naruto bought a bunch of takeout, and I can’t eat it all by myself… I promised Naruto he could have the Ichiraku tonight, but there’s plenty of other stuff to eat.”

“Hn.”

 

**Kakashi pov**

I stood by Kurenai and Asuma, before Iruka and Lord Hokage. It was finally time for the answers we had been waiting for. _I know Sasuke had to pass for sure. Naruto and Kagame however, well they can both be unpredictable in their own ways. And that can work against them when fighting a shinobi like Iruka. He may not be jounin level, but that’s mostly because of his commitment to the academy. If he wanted, I’m sure he could advance further._

My musings were cut off once the Hokage began to speak. “Well, how did it go, Iruka?”

The younger man cleared his throat before speaking. “All nine genin have proved themselves ready for the exams. They have pretty impressive skills. You were all right.” _Yes, but the chunin exams can break anyone. We’ll see if they can tough it out._

The Hokage removed his pipe from between his teeth. “If that is the case, you are all free to go.”

 

It wasn’t until nightfall that Iruka approached me, perched on the rooftops. I turned to where he stood. “So then, what did you want to talk about? Are you still not sure Naruto can hack it?”

“No, it’s not about that…” He looked rather torn for a moment. “Can you tell me…”

“Yes? I don’t have all day you know.”

“Kagame…” _Of course it has to be him. He’s been nothing but trouble these last two days._ “He’s absolutely ruthless. He almost killed me during our fight, and he was… Enjoying himself, quite a bit. His chakra felt all wrong, disgustingly hot and… unnatural. Like it didn’t belong to a person.”

“What are you trying to get at?” _I don’t like the conclusion you’re trying to lead me to_.

“I know he’s not from this village. So tell me.” He looked me straight in the eye, his expression angry, but not directed towards me. _The village maybe, Lord Hokage, or perhaps himself for not noticing back in the academy?_ “Is he a jinchuriki as well?”

“I can’t say that I would know. I never actually read his file, though it probably wouldn’t be in there anyway.” I remarked casually. “If he were though, I’d like to think that I could tell. Though he certainly is _different._ ” I gave him a wink before continuing. “Don’t worry though. I know he would never hurt one of his comrades on purpose. None of my students would.”

“ _On purpose?_ That’s not very reassuring.” His tone conveying just how nonplussed he was with my answer. _Still, I think I’m done. I’ve heard all I really need to._

I stood up and dusted off my pants. “Not that this little chat hasn’t been nice, but I’d very much like to get home now. I’ll be seeing you around.”

 

 

**Time remaining until the exams: 5 Days**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are! People are starting to catch onto poor Kagame, and with the chunin exams coming up there's gonna be even more eyes on him soon enough. He did a good job keeping everyone off his trail for this long, but puberty, demonic energy, and the stresses of ninja life do not mix well. Plus, Nagato's little interference a few chapters back, maybe, just might have knocked something loose in Kagame's brain.


	18. Before the exam: part four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a Team Dinner! Kagame puts it all on the table! (But not really. He's still kinda bad at opening up. But he's really trying.)

I was surprised to see Sasuke standing with Naruto at my door. _I thought for sure he wouldn’t come tonight, not after our encounter in the Uchiha district._ I couldn’t help the smile that broke out at seeing the two of them.

That night we ate and laughed and chatted about nothing really in particular. _Well Naruto did most of the talking, but you can’t really get him to shut up for long._ Apparently the same 'rain shinobi' had attacked him that day as well.

“But it’s not like I was scared or nothin’. Those weirdos from Suna were a lot more intimidating.” He boasted.

“It wasn’t even a real attack, idiot. It was just a leaf shinobi in disguise trying to test you.” Sasuke grumbled.

“What?!” Naruto shouted, eyes bulging comically. “How would you know?! Huh?! You’re just trying to make me look stupid!” He pointed at Sasuke aggressively with his chopsticks.

Sasuke let out a sigh before uttering, “Kagame.”

Naruto’s contorted face relaxed as he looked at me for a moment, searching for any sign that might indicate it was a lie. “Of course.” He let out his own sigh as he turned down to look at his bowl. “I thought I actually did somethin’ cool, ya know. I was a hero and now I’ll have to tell Konohamaru and them that it was all a joke.”

“It wasn’t a joke, it was a test. And it’s not like your actions are any less sincere now that you know. The point is, you didn’t know it was a test and you acted like Moegi was actually in trouble. Whether she was in any actual danger or not is irrelevant.” I reasoned.

His face scrunched up in thought. “I guess, but I still gotta tell em, ya know. Otherwise it’d be like lying.” His face lit up in realization. “Wait a minute.” He turned to look at me dead on. Eyes narrowing in suspicion. “So how did you figure out it was a test?”

I looked at Sasuke through the corner of my eye as he leveled me a look saying, ‘you’re on your own’ and looked down at his food as though it were the most interesting thing in the world. “U-umm. I… may have left- for a minute- not very long at all really. And came across the same shinobi as the both of you. And I figured it out from our fight.”

“Kakashi sensei said you weren’t allowed to do any training until the exams.” Naruto said frankly.

“Well-I-ugh, you know. I was just out on a walk, not doing any training or anything, and then I cooled off in the river for a bit.”

Naruto glared at me silently for a few moments before returning to his ramen. “Well as long as you weren’t training or anything.” He grumbled.

 _Technically it wasn’t really training, right? I mean, it was just a relaxation and control exercise. So it’s not really a lie._ “Anyway… I wanted to thank you, both of you, for being here tonight. I… enjoy spending time with you guys- _mostly anyway_.” _As long as you aren’t at each other’s throats-_ **_like rabid dogs, ready to rip into soft flesh_ ** _\- that is._

Naruto scratched the back of his neck, “Yeah, I mean you guys are all right, ya know.”

“Well since we’re all here, we should move onto more important business.” Sasuke interjected.

“Whatta ya mean?”

Sasuke scowled before answering, “Shouldn’t it be obvious? To talk about our strategy for the exams.”

Naruto ignored the look, taking the high road for once. “I guess that makes sense. So how do we start?”

“With what we know about the other teams, what intel we’ve collected from all our years at the academy.”

“But what about all the ninja from outside of the village? We don’t know anything about them!”

Naruto and I looked at Sasuke questioningly as he sighed. “Well we still know about the villages they come from, if you paid attention in class.”

Before Naruto could rise up to the bait, I cut in. “Maybe we should start with ourselves! I’m sure there’s still a lot we don’t know about each other right?” Both sets of eyes fell on me immediately.

“Well since you brought it up…” Sasuke began.

“The person we don’t really know is you!” Naruto finished, finger pointed right in my face. _Should have seen that coming._

“Ummm… well… What do you want to know?”

“Where are ya from?”

“What are your abilities?”

“Why do ya barely eat?”

“Tell us about the other Kagame.”

“Oh! Yeah, that one first!” Naruto agreed. _Asking the hard ones, huh._

I shifted uncomfortably under their gaze. “Umm… I-they-we? Ughhhhhh… When my eyes change, yeah. It’s… How do I explain?” I took a few moments to collect my thoughts, my heartbeat erratic, pounding in my ears.

I tried again. “I’m still myself- I think anyway. I at least know everything I do when I’m like that. I’m… more angry, I guess. A lot more. But I get stronger when I’m like that too. I… I slip into it sometimes without realizing. The longer it goes on though, the more I… lose control.” Naruto averted his eyes, looking down at his nearly finished ramen, his expression hard to read.

“That sounds pretty inconvenient, but the way you worded it. It sounds like it’s an ability of some kind, am I right?” Sasuke asked.

 _In for a penny, in for a pound, right?_ “It’s called **yoki release**. I guess you could think of it as a secondary chakra type. It enhances every aspect of my physical body. Strength, agility, regeneration, the five senses. But the more power I put behind it, the greater the drawbacks. So I try not to rely on it.

“As for where I’m from… I came from Ginnomegakure, the village hidden by silver eyes. It _was_ in the land of beasts.” Sasuke’s jaw clenched, _he’s probably remembering his own family._ “As you can probably guess from the name, it was founded by my clan, and since it doesn’t exist anymore, neither do they.

“The reason I don’t eat much is a result of my yoki.” Naruto opened his mouth to ask about it further, but I cut him off. “Let’s leave it at that. And- anyway- I ate more today than usual- so like, yeah.”  _It's still not as much as either of them, but Naruto eats enough for a small army. But I guess with his shadow clones, that might be true in some way?_

“And your other abilities? I’m guessing that they’re separate from your- _yoki?_ ” The word foreign on Sasuke’s tongue.

“Oh yeah! Like those vine things you used on Kaka-sensei!”

“My other abilities are Hermit purple, Phantom’s mirage, and-” _Elegance? Can I really say that’s mine? I don’t even know how I did that. “-_ ugh, well that’s it actually.”

“Hermit purple is the vines, right? In the bell test you used it for an attack to immobilize Kakashi, but you also used it to make a map of the area. Is there anything else it can do?” Sasuke asked.

“No, not yet anyway. It’s possible the technique could be adapted further, but that was all I ever saw it used for.”

Sasuke nodded before continuing. “And phantom’s mirage was the genjutsu for moving undetected while a fake Kagame appears to be hit by the opponent’s attack.”

“I don’t like that one.” Naruto says flatly.

“He’s right. It may be able to trick the enemy into thinking they’ve won, but it also tricks the rest of us. Even if it’s only a moment, the shock is enough to distract us that it could prove dangerous in a fight with more than one enemy.” Sasuke agreed.

“I guess I can see your point. But genjutsu is such an underused ability that I can’t afford to just not use it either.”

“Tch!”

“Hn!”

 _Stubborn._ "Well what about Naruto's shadow clones, huh?" I challenged.

"That's not the same, the puff into smoke as soon as you hit em!" 

"Ok, so mine linger a bit longer, but it still disperses."

"We thought you were dead." Sasuke's voice was low as he said it, his face twisted in anger, but I could still see a flicker of fear in his eyes.

I turned my head to the side, averting my gaze. "I guess I can disperse it a little earlier next time."

 

There wasn’t much else to discuss after that.

Sasuke has his shuriken and fireball; and he’s been working on his ninja wire skills and another fire style jutsu.

Naruto just has his shadow clones, but the brute force he gets from the jutsu has proven itself pretty useful thus far. Plus, the training we did in wave has helped him use less chakra when making them. _But considering how much chakra he has, well it’s not like he needs any spare._

Naruto looked like he wanted to say something else, but he never did. _Just like in the academy._

Collectively, we decided that if we ran into the Suna team, we would try to avoid conflict until the final round. _Though they both clearly want to fight them badly. Maybe they’re just trying to placate me. But they didn’t sense that-_ **_Yoma_ ** _\- boy’s killing intent._

Besides them, we don’t know much about our competition. Just that we’ll likely encounter the other rookies, and team eight could prove difficult if they’ve learned to work together.

 

After dinner I was surprised further when they offered to help me clean the dishes. I washed, Sasuke dried, and Naruto put them away. It was fairly pleasant.

Before they left, Naruto turned to me with his best serious face. “You’d better take it easy. We only have five days left until the exams and you can’t get in any more fights until then, alright.” _You’re really worried about ME picking fights?_

I gave an easy smile. “Fine. I’ll find some other way to keep myself occupied.”

“Hey! That’s not funny, I’m being totally serious, ya know!”

“I got it, I got it. Just relax, okay? I’m already starting to feel better anyway.”

“Well you sound like you’re worse.” _I guess my voice is still a little raspy._

“I’ll be fine. Promise.”

Naruto grabbed my hand and hooked his pinky with mine. “It’s a promise then.”

“You’re such a little kid.” Sasuke scoffs.

“What did you say!” _You’re both kids._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I'd get farther than this, but I guess not. Still five days left before the exam.


	19. Before the exam: part five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's some other teams getting ready for the exam. No team nine though, sorry if you guys were hoping to see them.

**Kurenai pov**

Kiba, Hinata, and Shino sat before me, most likely waiting to run drills in preparation for the exams.

“So which formation are we starting with, Sensei?” Kiba asked.

“Actually, I thought you could spend the day reviewing what you know of the other rookie teams from your class and planning strategies to use against them. It’s incredibly likely that you could face them in battle, considering all of your teams are mostly comprised of clan heirs.”

“Aww, seriously? I was hoping we could get in some actual training today, not sitting around _talking_ about those losers.” Kiba whined.

“You might find it boring, but using gathered intel is an important part of a shinobi’s career.” I lectured.

“Yeah I know that, but none of them are up to our level of strength. We can blow them out of the water no problem!”

“Oh? And how can you be so sure?”

“Shikamaru’s too lazy to take anything seriously, fatso is a total pushover, Ino only cares about looking pretty, Naruto is a loser in every sense of the word, and Kagame isn’t a threat to anyone.”

“It seems like you’re forgetting someone, why? Because it was Sasuke Uchiha, the rookie of the year, and the only one to defeat you in sparring matches in the academy, that you failed to mention.” Shino pointed out.

Kiba rounded on him. “Oh yeah! Well I got news for ya Shino! That guy’s just an arrogant asshole. When I show him my signature jutsu, he won’t stand a chance!”

“U-um. I-i don’t think you should count N-naruto out.” Hinata mumbled. “H-he always gets back up, no matter how hard someone hits him.”

“On top of that, his chakra reserves are immense. Why? Because my Kikaichu could gorge themselves as much as they liked without making a dent.” Shino offered.

“So he can take a punch and has a lot of chakra, that doesn’t mean anything. You saw how he performed ninjutsu, it was a total joke!”

“And what if his sensei fixed that little problem, Kiba?” I challenged. “You’ve all grown significantly stronger in the past three months. The same could be said about your old classmates. So knowing that, do you want to reconsider your position?”

Kiba let out a huff and crossed his arms. “Okay, so let's pretend Naruto did get stronger. That still leaves an obvious weak link. Kagame. And no, I’m not just saying that cuz he was average. It’s because of his scent.”

“H-his scent?” Hinata’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

“Yeah, he has this thick cloud that smells like disinfectant. But underneath it there’s something grossly sweet, like overripe fruit.” Akamaru yipped in agreement. “It’s the scent of a patient who’s been in the hospital for a long time.”

“You’re saying he’s ill?” I asked. _That’s certainly news to me. But if that’s the case, then did I really win the bet with Kakashi, or was it just a front to keep Kagame’s illness a secret?_

“I’m saying he’s always smelled like that. Even when he first entered the academy.”

Hinata raised her hand before speaking. “U-u-um. If I may, I heard that Kagame was seen…” Hinata paused, her face bright red. “B-being carried by Sasuke. H-his skin was red and peeling and sweaty, and his arms were covered in bruises.” _It doesn’t really add up. Why would he have bruises if he was just ill? Is it possible he pushed himself so hard because of his sickness? Maybe he wants to prove that it doesn’t define him._

“When we were in the academy, and I was still learning to control my kikaichu, I sent them to collect chakra from our classmates. Wh-”

Kiba cut off Shino mid explanation. “I don’t care why! Just get to the point already!”

“After feeding on him, my insects became very sick and died just days later.” My eyes widened as both Kiba and Hinata let out gasps of surprise before Shino continued. “Not only that, but upon their deaths, strange growths broke through their carapaces. My father identified the growths as tumours.” _Lord Third really did settle Kakashi with the most difficult team, didn’t he._

 

**Shikamaru pov**

We were sitting at our regular booth in Yakiniku Q, Choji was stuffing his face like this could be his last meal, and Ino was strangely silent for once. I expected her to still be upset about Sasuke carrying Kagame through the village. But after that night she had stopped for whatever reason. She was looking down at her tea with a somber look that didn’t fit her face. _She hasn’t looked like this since Sakura._

Asuma cleared his throat. “So, why don’t we start talking about your plans for the exam.”

Ino looked up from her drink as Choji paused his frantic eating. “Well, what are we supposed to plan for exactly? I know that there’ll be lots of shinobi we don’t know and… the other rookies too.” Ino’s voice softened. “From both our class and class B. But I don’t really know what we’re supposed to be thinking about, how you even prepare for something you know nothing about.” _She’s got a point there, no one will even tell us anything about the exam._

Asuma took a long drag on his cigarette, before blowing a series of rings. “Well. What do you think you should bring? What do you know about your competition? Are you planning on teaming up with anyone? Can you trust that they won’t stab you in the back the first chance they get?”

Choji’s face lit up. “We can really get help from other teams! That’ll make this so much easier!” He looked so happy he might burst into tears.

Asuma’s brows knit together. “Well, yeah, but-”

Ino slammed her hands down on the table, standing up. “Absolutely not!” The restaurant became deathly quiet. Several other people looking over to see where the outburst had come from. Ino’s face drawn into a scowl. Choji was so shocked he forgot about his food cooking on the grill before us, turning more brown that he usually let it get before he would inevitably stuff it down his gullet. I tried to find my voice, to say something, anything. But I couldn’t. Even Asuma was surprised by the uncharacteristic behavior. “We’ve… already burned too many bridges for that.” She bit out, before turning to leave. “I’m sorry, I gotta go. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

I picked up my chopsticks and took Choji’s forgotten strips of meat off the grill before they could burn.  _Troublesome._


	20. Before the exam: part six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fuck, this got out of hand.

_Chapter 5: Advanced Applications of Chakra_

 

_‘After acquiring a working command of the basics, a shinobi can begin learning new uses for chakra outside of moulding it for the use of jutsu. These techniques can expand the users options in battle immensely.’_

 

 _‘_ **_Gyo_ ** _: An advanced application of chakra by which a shinobi concentrates their chakra into one specific area. The most common and earliest application for most shinobi is not for the purpose of combat, but rather to focus chakra on the bottom of one’s feet and match the frequency with walls, ceilings, trees, and water in order to walk upon them. See pages 36, 40, and 49._

_It is also possible to use gyo to increase the strength of the area to deal more damage to opponents or to protect that area from an enemy attack. However, this does leave other areas more vulnerable. For ways to combat such a weakness, see Ryu on pages 71 and 72.’_

 

 _Hmmm._ I let out a sigh of frustration as I flopped onto the grass to chug the rest of my vitamin water. _Why can’t I wrap my head around this technique? I get the part about focusing my chakra into one spot. That’s easy. But what the hell am I supposed to do after that?_ I raised my hand, staring at it against the backdrop of leaves as light poured down from the mid morning sun. _It should feel different, shouldn’t it? Maybe I need to take a break. Naruto did mention a good cafe the other day. And I do need something else to drink._

_Plus, I'm disobeying Kakashi right now and I can’t think of a way to justify this as anything but training. So I should really get going before anyone sees me._

 

**Ino pov**

_How can they even think like that?! We don’t have any connections to the other rookies at all, not good ones anyway._ I sighed as I stomped through the Uzushio district. _If they can’t muster up the willpower to do this themselves, then there’s no way we can make it to the final exam._

A flash of green nearly bowled me over, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Hey! Watch where you’re going, asshole!”

I followed the blur of color as he rushed over towards a nearby cafe. He stopped to hide behind one of the bushes lining the street and peeked out. I spotted his leaf headband tied around his waist. _This guy is a terrible shinobi, even my four year old cousin could spot him. And what’s with that hair and outfit?_

I looked to see who it is he was spying on when my eyes landed on a girl in white with brown hair. _Wait, is that Kagame?_ His hair had grown out since the last time I saw him, lying past his shoulder blades.

_What’s he doing here alone, and why is this weirdo stalking him?_

 

**Kagame pov**

I closed my handbook and set it down on the table. _This is supposed to be a break. It doesn’t count as a break if I’m still obsessing over it._ I stared at the empty seat across from me as I lazily took a sip from the pomegranate juice I ordered.

 _Maybe I should have gotten some food too._ I shook my head, banishing the thought. _I probably wouldn’t even finish it. It’s too bad, that chocolate cake smelled soooo good._ I sighed heavily. _Yoki suuuuuucks._

I was interrupted from my pity party by a strange looking boy in- _tight green spandex? And holy shit are those fucking caterpillars on his face!?_ My jaw dropped open as he took the seat across from me.

“Forgive me for my boldness miss, but I couldn’t help notice that a fair lady such as yourself shouldn’t be unaccompanied. And with such a dreary expression as well. It’s unbefitting of someone in the springtime of youth.” _What the fuuuuuuuck._

“”Uuumm. Thanks?”

“I am Rock Lee. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Who might you be?”

“My name is Kagame Ryo.” _What’s going on? What is going on?!_

“Tell me Kagame-chan, have you been stood up by an undeserving delinquant?” _What?_

I opened my mouth to express my confusion when a familiar voice screeched, “What the hell is going on here?! Who the hell is this guy?!” _Ino?!_

The blonde vaulted over the fence surrounding the tables and jabbed her finger at Lee. “I am Rock Lee. A shinobi of Konoha. And I find it quite unpleasant for such foul language to spill from such a beautiful flower.”

Ino snorted before launching into a full on verbal assault. “Oh yeah! Well I find everything about you to be **unpleasant** , Lee! Have you ever even seen your reflection before? Your hair looks like you cut it while doing a handstand in a pothole, your outfit doesn’t make any sense, and finally, you’re a total creep!”

“Can I ask a question?” I interrupt.

“What?!” The screamed in unison.

“What the hell is going on?”

Ino started first. “This guy nearly trampled me before hiding behind some bushes like **_A TOTAL STALKER,_ ** so he could spy on you.”

“I am no stalker. I merely spotted Kagame-chan from afar and knew that I had to speak with her so I could ask,” He got on one knee and raised one of his bandaged hands. “Will you please be my girlfriend!” My eyes widened in shock. _IS THIS GUY FOR REAL RIGHT NOW?!_

“What?! No way would he ever go out with you!” Ino barked.

Lee’s face fell, all color draining from his being. “He?” He whispered.

 

After a very… intense apology, Lee left yelling something about 1,000 push ups, or something. Leaving just me and Ino. It was… awkward, to say the least. She took the spot across from me where Lee once sat and ordered a cup of green tea from the waiter. _This is so weird. I’ve never been alone with Ino before, we were always with Shikamaru, Sakura, and Choji. In fact the only one I ever spent time with alone was Shikamaru, and that was almost five years ago!_ A shot of pain went through my chest. **_Abandoned, worthless, dirt._ **

Ino’s voice distracted me from the intrusion of thoughts. “That guy sure was a freak, huh?”

“O-oh, yeah, total weirdo.”

“So, I-um. I guess, what I wanted to say was…” Ino took in a deep breath, resolve showing in her eyes. “I don’t care about what their dads think. If Choji and Shikamaru can’t make decisions for themselves, then… Then they aren’t real men at all.” _Wha-_ **_yoma, beast, monster, silver eyed witch._ ** “But let’s get one thing straight! Sasuke is mine, and I won’t lose him to anyone, not Sakura, and not you either.” I nearly choked on my drink at the declaration.

“That’s- no- I mean- we’re just teammates!” My hands flailing around as I tried to deny what she was claiming.

“It’s fine. I get it. My dad explained everything to me.”

“Well can he explain it to me, because I think you’re making some serious jumps here.” _I don’t like Sasuke… Right?_

“I don’t care that you like guys. And clan politics are stupid anyway. Shikamaru doesn’t have to be the head of his clan, hell he might not be even without you around. He’s too lazy, and I think his dad’s starting to realize he’s not cut out for it anyway.” A million questions swarmed through my head. _Okay, let’s just break that apart and analyze it._

I took a minute to collect my thoughts before asking, “Why would me being around stop Shikamaru from becoming clan head?”

“Because he needs to be able to produce an heir to be clan head, and he can’t do that if he’s married to a guy.” _She says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world._

“M-m-married?” The word barely escaped my mouth. “We were like, eight! Isn’t that a little early? Hell we’re only thirteen now,” _**T**_ ** _hirteen._ ** “And that seems way too early too. I-I mean, yeah, we’re genin, a-a-and technically adults, but…”

“Yeah, I told you. Clan politics are stupid.” She huffed. “Anyway. I thought I would get all that out in the open. So, in a way, I guess I’m glad that freak ran into me.”

“Yeah, I guess that really changes things. I have a lot to think about now that I know… all, that.”

Ino stood up from her seat, her cup already empty. “I’ll see you in the exams. We can all settle things there, in the battlefield.” _Right, the exams._ "And don't think I'll go easy on you."

 

After she left, I sat there for a long time, tracing the spine of my handbook. _So is it where I’m from, or who I like? Or is it both? Did I even like Shikamaru like that? It’s been so long that I don’t think I can say._ I lifted my hand to the clip in my hair. _I’m not ready to deal with this shit. I-I just want-_ **_I want to rip out all the pain. And if I can't, then I'll tear them all apart._ **

 

**One day before the exam**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally getting to the exams next chapter!


	21. Reveals and Rivalry: The Chunin Exams Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Chunin exams are finally here guys!

_Eyeliner. Black. Yes. Lipstick. Purple. No. Black. No. Too monochrome. Pink. Yes. Cigarette behind the ear. No. It’s a hint of danger, one that I don’t need. Plus if I commit to that, then I’d probably have to actually smoke one at some point to make it believable, because I definitely don’t smell of smoke. Plus, they’re super bad for you. And if I really wanted to pull that off, then I would need red lipstick instead. And the look I’m going for is NOT whore on the corner. Especially not thirteen year old whore._ **_Thirteen._ **

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. _Pleasantly feminine. Cute girl with eyes that pop. Oh, but maybe that’s a bad idea. If I can’t control my yoki, then it’ll draw too much attention. Then everyone will be even more on guard._

_No, I’ll be fine. I just need to keep my anger in check._

_I’ll need a different yukata though. White with longer sleeves and pink flower print instead… with a red obi. No, pink with flower print. Yeah. No one will think me dangerous in this, even if I show off my brain. They’ll just think I’m some weak, pretty, girly girl, the token kunoichi of my squad…_

My eyes widened in realization. Every squad is supposed to have at least one kunoichi _,_ unless there aren’t enough girls enrolled in the class that year. _But there were. And they put two of them on team six._

_Sasuke was the most popular guy in the class, all the girls were in love with him, even girls from class B._

I raised my hand against the mirror in front of me. The glass was cold under the skin of my palm. _If they put a girl on his team, it could have been a huge distraction. They would be too busy fawning over him to do any training. And they would get in the way of his progress as well._

_But I look like a girl. It’s an easy way to bend the rules, a cop out._

I turned my back to the mirror and grabbed my weapons pouch off the counter. _Sakura and I were both in the top three academically, and we were both average in the practical. We were both in class A. We were both pegged as genjutsu types in our academy files. And neither of us were clan children. As far as most people would be concerned, there's no difference between us._

I exited my home and locked the door behind me. I took a deep breath and proceeded to walk down the stairs to the ground level. _I wasn’t supposed to be on team seven. Sakura was._

I reached the bottom and began the walk towards the academy. I still had plenty of time to make it there before noon. _I was supposed to be on team six. I was supposed to be the **throwaway** member of our class. I **didn’t belong** with the rest of them. If it hadn’t been for the civilian quotas, I would’ve been placed into class B to begin with. _

When I reached the entrance there were plenty of genin I didn’t recognize. I took a moment to scan the area before zeroing in on a familiar figure, propped up against a wall, separate from the mass of chatting shinobi.

“Hey! Kagame! Wait up!” I turned to see a blob of red hair weave through the crowd before stopping in front of me. “Woah! What happened to you!”

“It’s just something I’m trying out.” I was surprised when the words came out so easily, not a hint of distress audible in my tone. A small smile plastered on my face.

“Oh, well ok. I liked how you looked before, but this is nice too.” He said, a hint of blush on his cheeks.

“Like I said, I’m just trying something different. I don’t really think it suits me much though.”

“Oh, well, have you seen Sasuke yet?”

“Yeah, he’s just over there.” I jabbed my thumb over to where he was slouching.

“Well let’s get going then!” He grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. _He’s always so sure of himself. He never lets anything stop him, no matter how insurmountable._  I pulled some of his chakra through the palm of his hand.  _His_ _chakra feels like the sun._

I noticed team ten out of the corner of my eye. _I would have never met them…_

I turned my gaze back to Naruto and Sasuke. Both of them so excited to be able to prove themselves. To push themselves to the limit and see just how far we’ve all come. _But maybe… fate… can be kind._

The two of them looked at me with concern as tears were welling up in my left eye. “Kagame, are you ok?” Naruto’s voice was so soft.

I wiped the tears away, smudging my eyeliner while laughing. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. I just had something in my eye. Now let’s go kick some ass!”

Sasuke smirked as Naruto pumped his fist into the air. “All right! Let’s show em who’s boss!” His eyes shining in the light of day, holding all of the sky inside of them.

 

 _That’s not right._ We were walking through the hallway on the third floor after having gone up two flights of stairs when we saw a mass of genin circled around the doorway marked 301. _We can’t be on the third floor. It just… doesn’t feel like it._ I disrupted the flow of my chakra as I saw Lee and a female genin I didn’t recognize get thrown back by two older boys guarding the door. The sign changed, revealing my suspicions to be correct, the sign clearly read 201. _Genjutsu. “Let’s keep walking.”_ I whispered to my team, trying to pull them along past the crowd.

Unfortunately, Sasuke had other ideas. He walked up to the boys and flatly told them, “Why don’t you just step aside and let me through, and while you’re at it, reverse the genjutsu. We’re going to the third floor, this is only the second floor.” I let out a sigh. _Naruto’s right, you really do like showing off._

“Well, go ahead Kagame. I’m sure you noticed before the rest of us. You have the sharpest eyes and the best analytical skills on our team.”  _Well that certainly is flattering, but why did you have to pick now to complement someone else! Showing off isn't important until the actual tournament._

I tightened my vocal cords with my yoki, pitching up my voice, “Like, duh, anyone could tell we were still on the second floor.”

“Well aren’t we the smart one, lets see how you deal with this!” The boy with spiky hair launched an attack as Sasuke rushed forward. But before either could make contact, Lee was standing between them, holding their legs with one hand each. _I didn’t even see him move._

After he let go his team scolded him for a bit. _He’s got a Hyuga on his team, that could be dangerous._ But he seemed to ignore them as he walked towards team six. _I didn’t even notice them in the crowd._ He stopped before Sakura and said, “Your name is Sakura right? My name is Rock Lee.” He gave her a thumbs up and a wink before asking, “Please be my girlfriend.” _Wow, this guy moves on fast._ “I vow to protect you with my life.” _You just met her._

“Definitely… not.” She deadpanned.

“Why?”

“Because you’re a weirdo.” Naruto and I snickered at the comment, as Lee let his head fall.

Meanwhile Sasuke had just blown off the Hyuga completely, _but I guess that makes sense. I had heard from Shikamaru that their two clans never did get along, despite being related._

“Sakura! Hurry the fuck up, we aren’t gonna wait for you all day ya know!” Hatsume’s voice was laced with irritation. A scowl etched onto her face. _Is that how she always talks to her team?_ Beside her, Shinichi looked rather angry himself; arms crossed with a look of disgust on his face. _Jeez, how do they expect to pass if they treat their teammate like that?_

Sakura ran after them, “Sorry, it won’t happen again.”

“Hey! You don’t have to take that from them ya know! Who the hell do you think you are talkin to Sakura like that!?” Naruto shouted.

“And who the hell do you think you are, telling me how to run my team! I am her captain and it is my duty to keep her in line!” Hatsume spat.

“Captain? What are you talking about?”

Hatsume let out a harsh laugh, “You don’t even have a captain on your team, do you? Well let me spell it out for you, the captain is the strongest and smartest member of the team, the one who’s in charge and makes all the decisions and leads the mission when the sensei isn’t around.”

“Well I don’t care who the hell you are! You can’t just treat your team like that!”

“It’s not my team, just Sakura. Though I wouldn’t have to if she just got her act together.” She sneered.

“Naruto, please just drop it. She’s right I just-” Sakura put her hands up in defense as she tried to get him to back down.

“No, it’s not alright! There shouldn’t be anyone who’s above the rest of you! The team is supposed to act as one, believe it!”

“He’s right, no one is more important than the rest, even if you are the captain. One of your duties with that kind of responsibility is to make sure all your teammates are being treated well. So on a team of chunin, no one would follow or respect someone like you as the leader.” I challenged.

Hatsume’s eyes widened in anger as she grabbed her whip from her belt loop, her shoulders shaking. “I’ll teach you little brats to quit running your mouths!” Before she could act, Shinichi put his hand on her shoulder, instantly calming her down.

“They aren’t worth it. If they make it to the finals, you can destroy them then.” His voice was calm, despite the tension in his muscles and...  _Is that fear?_

“Tch. Let’s fucking move on already. You’ve wasted enough of our time.” Team six turned to leave, the tension in the atmosphere amping up as the other teams were all put on edge.

 

We had just made it up the stairs when we were confronted by Lee. He spouted some sort of nonsense about challenging Sasuke and proving the merits of his training. Or at least I thought it was nonsense until the fight actually began.

Lee had disarmed Sasuke almost immediately and proceeded to carry out a relentless assault of jabs and kicks. His speed was insane, I had been forced to use my yoki just to follow his movements, and the force behind his blows was inhuman. He was about to finish Sasuke off when his final attack was interrupted by… _a talking turtle_?

And then when I didn’t think things could get any weirder, his sensei, Might Guy, showed up and proceeded to punch him in the face for causing trouble before the exams started.

“Are you guys seeing this too? Cuz he looks like an even bigger bushy brow.” Naruto said.

“Yeah… I think we should leave before anything else happens.” I decided. _This guy… he may look like Lee, but he kind of smells like Kakashi… and terrible b.o._

 

When we entered the hallway to the third floor, we were surprised to see that Kakashi was actually there waiting for us.

“Well hello there my terrifying little monsters. I’m glad you all decided to show up. And for your own reasons at that. You’ve all come quite a ways since you came to me three months ago. But don’t let your growth blind you to your enemies strengths. The shinobi you’ll be facing are chunin in all but their name. You’ll be facing a level of opponent you wouldn’t normally see, and without me to protect you in the event something goes wrong. If any of you believe you aren’t ready for the exams, you should leave now, because once they start, you may not be able to go back.”

Naruto was the first to answer, “Are you kidding Kaka-sensei? We’re totally ready, believe it! We passed the test to take the exams after all, so there’s no reason to drop out before they even start.”

Kakashi tilted his head to the side, “Test? I don’t recall giving you any test.”

“Don’t play dumb, Kagame figured it out the day it happened. You had some loser leaf shinobi fight each of us one on one, all in the same day, to see if we were ready.” Sasuke snorted.

Kakashi turned his single eye towards me. “Oh, so you figured that out, did you? Well how about I tell you something I found out? A certain somebody” He leaned in closer to my face, “didn’t listen to their sensei and was seen training in the forest.” He poked me in the forehead when he finished.

“What?! Kagameee! You said you were only on a walk!” Naruto shouted.

“Well technically I only said it on that day, which was true, just not on any of the other days. So you know. I wasn’t lying or anything like that. And… it wasn’t the same kind of training. I was just trying to figure out something with my chakra was all.”

“Well, you’re still in trouble for not obeying your superior.” Kakashi said. “But, since the exams are about to begin, I think I’ll put that little issue on the back burner. For now anyway.”

“Well, since I’m in trouble anyway, is Guy sensei your boyfriend?” I ask.

Kakashi reared back in shock, eye widened to comical proportions as Naruto burst out into a fit of laughter. “No way!!! Kaka-sensei and that weirdo?!!”

“W-w-why would you a-ask something like that?” Sweat was beading down the visible corner of his face.

“Well, it’s just that… He kinda smells like you… and sweat… and I figured since you’re both around the same age- **_you probably just fucked, right?_ ** ” _What the fuck did I just say?! I must be a fucking idiot!!_ Heat rose to my cheeks as my jaw dropped open. _It was like my mouth moved on it’s own._

Kakashi stilled before straightening to his full height. The air around him turned noticeably cooler. That same aura he emanated during the bell test resurfaced. “Since you’ll be taking the exams, I’ll have plenty of time to decide on a proper punishment for you, and I won’t spare even a minute to anything else. This matter will have my full attention.” _I’m fucking dead. If I don’t die in the exams, then Kakashi will definitely end me afterwards._

 

After we finished registering with the shinobi in grey uniforms, we entered a room filled with shinobi. The air was tense, everyone on edge, ready to strike at the drop of a hat.

But I was a little preoccupied to really be worried about that. “I can’t believe I said that…”

“I can’t believe you said that.” Sasuke groaned.

“I can’t believe you said that!!” Naruto was still snickering.

 

**Kuroge pov**

The Konoha rookies were gathering near the entrance of the room. They were squabbling like children unaware of the threat they would be facing. _The redhead shouting at the top of his lungs is too obvious._ My eyes shifted to the right. _His teammate though…_ I walked over, an amicable smile on my face.

“Excuse me? Could I have a moment of your time?” _Male. Thirteen or fourteen years old. He’s rather pretty, it’s no wonder he would choose to disguise himself as a girl._

“Sure, I’m not really busy right now. What’s up?” _He can even pitch his voice without using the transformation jutsu, quite impressive._

“I’d like to pose an alliance between our two teams.” _His face doesn't betray a thing, but his body language makes him an open book._   _He was already on guard before, but now he’s even more wary. Good. I like it when they make things difficult._

“We haven’t done anything remarkable yet, so I’m a bit surprised you would ask, if anything I thought Naruto’s outburst would have drove away any potential allies.”

“Maybe for most, but I like to look underneath things. And what I see are three talented kids with a lot of potential, despite their personality quirks.”

Before he could reply, the sole team from sound attacked the grey haired leaf nin the rookies had been talking with. He dodged the attack, and yet he also didn’t. _How peculiar._ He doubled over, vomiting as his glasses cracked and blood dribbled down from his ears. _An invisible attack?_

“You don’t have to give an answer now, you can wait until we both pass the first exam.” I pointed over to my team. “Those guys are my team, and my brothers. The one with white hair is Shiroge, the one with half-black, half-white hair is Yugure. And I’m Kuroge. We’re from Kusa.”

“My name is Kagame, the redhead is Naruto, the other one is Sasuke.”

I flashed him a smile and waved, “It was nice meeting you, love the disguise by the way, don’t let it get you down that I saw through it though. A lot of these chumps wouldn’t be able to even if they had a byakugan.”

 

“So how’d it go?” Shiroge asked.

“The girly one is suspicious, but he didn’t shut me out. So I’d count it as a success. What about you guys?”

Yugure’s eyes shined, the flower pattern receding as the color changed from green to black. “Both redheads in the room are jinchuriki. The one from Suna also possesses a nature transformation. Magnet release. There are two Hyuga’s in the room. The sound nin’s vanishing attack was not a kekkei genkai however, so I can’t tell how he did it. The girly boy has a body manipulation kekkei genkai, and his broody teammate is the Uchiha we heard about. He’s already awakened his Sharingan.”

“That’s a lot of information you gathered. I’m surprised by the quality of this years candidates.” _And, excited._

The booming voice of the proctor cut through all the voices in the crowd, as smoke dissipated. “All right maggots. It’s time to settle down.” _Looks like the fun is about to begin._

 

**Kagame pov**

_So the first exam will be written this year_. The proctor was Ibiki Morino, _the same man who interrogated me on the night of the Uchiha Massacre_. I did a once over of the test put before me. Each question harder than the next. _This doesn’t bode well for the others. Naruto was dead last, and Sasuke’s academics pulled a nose dive after that night. Which means it’s all on me to get to the next exam. No pressure or anything._

I looked back at the first question, apprehension dawning already. _Too bad I don't remember shit about ciphers._

 

_Five questions. I only managed to answer five questions. And it didn’t even matter. He just throws out the whole exam for a trick question at the very end. This sick, twisted asshole really does belong in T &I. _

“Wow Kagame, you look bad.” Naruto said.

“My brain is totally fried after that exam.”

“Wait, so you actually tried answering those questions?” Sasuke asked.

I merely groaned in response as we exited the classroom with the remaining shinobi.

“So how many did you get?” Naruto asked, scratching his cheek.

“Five.”

“Woah, really?” His eyes widened in surprise.

“Tch. I couldn’t even get one without needing to cheat.” Sasuke complained.

“Well we already knew you were the best at dumb, book stuff. Ugh, no offense or anything, it’s just not my thing, ya know.”

I waved him off. “Yeah I know. Don’t worry about it. By the way, do you guys wanna have dinner with me? I have something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Both of them perked up at the idea of food after the long day we’ve had.

As we left, I couldn't help but notice Kuroge's team had already disappeared.  _Shouldn't there be a meeting after proposing an alliance? Unless Naruto's outburst during the final question put them off. But that doesn't make sense either, they already saw what he's like before the exam even started..._

 

**Kuroge pov**

“Where the hell is Shiore?” _That guy thinks the whole world works around his schedule._ We were standing in a clearing by some buddha statues. _He was supposed to meet us here an hour ago. The sun’s about to set. If we don’t get back to our room before sunset we’ll get in trouble. We can’t afford to be caught breaking curfew._

My irritation was immediately cut short as Shiroge and Yugure fell to the ground blood spurting from their chests and mouths as strange bonelike protrusions burst through them. I tried to leap away but was struck at the base of my spine. My body crumpled to the ground, but I had managed to cling onto consciousness.

Shiore’s team rushed towards us, kunai in hand, ready to confront our attackers. Two pale men walked forward. One of them with stark white hair like my brother’s shot more of the strange bones out of his body, killing Shiore’s teammates. The other weaved a series of hand signs before lowering his eyelid, freezing Shiore in place. As he stood there, the foreign shinobi advanced casually. _He’s dead._ The man’s jaw unhinged, his maw opening farther than humanly possible before he swallowed Shiore’s head. _What kind of monster is he?_ He slowly pulled back, revealing Shiore’s face to be completely blank.

“Now, I think it’s time for our little friend to make himself useful.” His voice was raspy, and had a certain quality to it, reminding me of… _a snake._ He moved his hand across his face, changing it instantly to that of Shiore. He knelt down before me and asked in Shiore's voice, with Shiore's face, “Now, why don’t you tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right here?”

 

**Kagame pov**

We sat on top of the rooftop of my building, eating Okonomiyaki we bought on the way there. Surprisingly, I actually managed to eat the whole thing. But after my little incident the week earlier I had found myself eating much more frequently.

“So what did you wanna talk about?” Naruto said in between bites.

“Could you chew with your mouth closed, loser. It’s disgusting.” Sasuke scolded.

Before Naruto could retort I answered, “It’s about that guy you were all talking to, Kabuto.”

Naruto stole a scowl at Sasuke before perking up. “Oh yeah, he was really nice!”

“Correction, he _seemed_ nice. I don’t think he entered the exams for the purpose of advancing in rank. He said this is his seventh time taking the exams, right? That sounds really fucking suspicious if you ask me."

“So what are you saying then? He just wanted to take them for fun?” Naruto asked.

“No, well, I guess somewhat, yes. I think he’s there for two reasons. 1) To gather information. He had a massive amount of those info cards, way too much for if he was just trying to pass. That kind of information gathering is just too advanced for something like this. He even had that graph detailing the number of shinobi per village. That’s the kind of stuff you would be trying to figure out if you were going to war. Or if you were going to sell the information.

“2) To prevent others from passing. Think about it, he created a false dichotomy of us vs. them, of leaf vs. foreign nin. He made us think he could be trusted, that he was a veteran trying to teach us first timers some important tips. Then tricked us into thinking he was all brain and no brawn by baiting the sound nin into attacking him so he would appear weak, and as a bonus draw their attention to the entire rookie nine.”

“I think I get it. He purposefully caused a commotion so everyone’s eyes would be on us. Everyone there saw us, what we looked like, they even heard our voices and learned some of our names. Meanwhile, we didn’t learn any of theirs.” Sasuke added.

“There’s also a good chance he’ll attempt contact in the second exam with at least one of our teams and then try to stab them in the back.”

“But why would he do that?” Naruto whined.

“It’s like you said, it’s fun for people like him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys know that Shiore, the guy Orochimaru impersonates in the second exam, is actually a guy? I didn't know.  
> Also Yugure has a Kekkei genkai, it allows him to see other individuals kekkei genkai, or rather the special chakra that allows them to manifest and where it flows, including the chakra of jinchuriki. Too bad he and his team are dead.


	22. Encounter: A Snake In The Trees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, I hope you didn't mind the wait between chapters. This one's kind of a long one. Gore in this chapter.

We had arrived at training grounds 44, the forest of death, site of the second exam. _Survival is easy, I survive all the time. Hell, I made the trek from Yugakure to Konoha when I was six. The real problem will be the other teams, not the forest itself._ My eyes landed on the sound team, who looked almost bored, save for the boy- _Is he just a boy? Or is he actually like, a sixty year old man?-_ covered in bandages. His visible eye was open wide, red veins reaching for the pupil. _Does he ever blink?_

Our proctor, Anko Mitarashi, stepped forward. “Listen up brats! I’m about to explain the rules for the second exam!” The idle chatter between teammates ceased immediately, everyone ready to show their skills in battle after the rather unsatisfying results of yesterday’s test. “The second portion of the exams will be a survival exercise within these woods. Your task will be to gather two scrolls. One will be marked heaven and the other will be marked earth. Each team will be given one at the beginning of the exam. You will not know which scroll your opponents will receive. It will be up to you to decide how you will take theirs. There are no rules concerning how you do this, you can even kill your opponents if that’s how you wanna advance. But your enemy shinobi won’t be the only threats that you run into. There’s a reason it’s called the forest of death.”

“ _There’s a reason it’s called the forest of death.”_ Naruto repeated in a mocking tone. “Listen up lady, I don’t care what’s in there! I can handle anything!”

She chuckled before throwing a kunai at him, cutting his cheek. She vanished and then reappeared behind him. “So you’re a tough guy huh? Well the forest floor is covered in the blood of tough guys like you.” She stopped when a grass nin appeared behind her, holding the kunai she threw in her tongue. _Speaking of grass nin, where the hell is Kuroge’s team? I know that they passed the first exam. They wouldn't just chicken out, **unless they're fuckin' cowards.**_

I was broken out of my thoughts by the sudden flares of killing intent from both Anko and the grass nin. “Forgive me, but with the smell of blood and your knife cutting my hair, I couldn’t control myself. I meant you no harm.” _And yet, somehow I just can’t believe you._ I stepped aside as she walked past, our eyes met. _It’s like staring into a doll’s eyes._

 

After the encounter with the grass nin, I made a mental list of all the information Anko gave us in her speech.

 

  1. __We need both scrolls to pass__
  2. _We can’t open the scrolls before we enter the tower in the center of the forest_
  3. _We have to reach the tower within five days_
  4. _We can kill anyone we want to_
  5. _We can still pass even if our teammates have been rendered unconscious or dead, but only under the condition that we bring them with us to the tower_
  6. _Enemy shinobi aren’t the only danger we might face in the forest_
  7. _If we lose our scroll, we aren’t immediately disqualified. We can still fight other teams and attempt to steal their scrolls_
  8. _We can steal as many scrolls as we want_
  9. _We can destroy scrolls to prevent others from obtaining them_



 

Rules number five and six were a bit, unnerving. _In the final exams, we will be competing with our teammates, so perhaps it’s also a test to see how far we’ll go to ensure victory. Or maybe as a test of loyalty, to see if we’re willing to put the needs of the team ahead of our own personal desires. Or a way to weed out the psycho’s who would kill their own team just because they could._

My gaze drifted over to Sasuke and Naruto. _Maybe it’s so exceptional shinobi can still compete, even if their teammates don’t make it._

 

After Anko finished explaining the rules of the exam we were handed consent forms to sign. When we were finished with the forms, we entered a tent where we received a heaven scroll. Sasuke immediately took it and stored it within his weapons pouch, not even considering Naruto or me taking it instead. _But it’s not like we can argue about it with so many keen ears listening._ Though Naruto still made a sour face at him.

At 2:30, one of the proctors opened gate 12 for us. As we stepped through, my nose was suddenly hit by a number of new and strange smells. _There must have been some kind of seal to prevent anyone from gleaning any information before the test began._

“Let’s show em what we’re made of! Anything they dish out, we send back twice as strong, believe it!” Naruto cheered.

“Sasuke, Naruto, I have a plan.” Both of them stared at me intently. “From the map Anko showed us, we know that the tower is in the middle of the forest. And, we know there’s a river that runs through it as well. So rather than trying to find scrolls right away, we should make our way around the perimeter until we find the river, and then we follow it to the tower. That way we don’t have to worry about getting lost in unfamiliar territory, and we can just wait for the other teams to come to us.”

“Oh! I get it! That way we can steal their scroll before they even know what’s hit em!” Naruto shouted, making a fist.

“And we can head right into the tower without worrying about getting attacked.” Sasuke added.

Sasuke took point as we dashed through the forest floor, we kept a wide berth from the fence in case an enemy attacked. _It would suck to try and leap back only to get electrocuted by a stationary object. Not to mention it would be super embarrassing._

It was around an hour in when we began to hear screams emanating from within the forest. “I guess it’s already started then.” I mumbled.

“I didn’t think people would start fighting already.” Naruto said.

“I’m not surprised, team eight specializes in tracking, so it stands to reason that there are other teams that do as well. They would most likely choose a strategy that involves hunting down the weaker teams almost immediately.” Sasuke reasoned.

“Well if that’s true, then why aren’t we doing that? Kagame might not be as good as dogbreath, but he can still track people with their scent, right?”

“You’re idea might work on paper, Naruto, but I’m not familiar with this area, there are a lot of new smells I’m not used to that could throw off a scent trail. And it’s not like I’ve learned any of their scents anyway, I would have no idea of who I’m following. I can barely tell the difference between Kakashi and a dog.”

“And besides that, our team is obviously more suited to combat than tracking anyway, so rather than try to copy another team, we should stick with the plan we came up with.” Sasuke stated. “When we get near the tower, you and Kagame can overwhelm and distract the enemy easily with shadow clones and genjutsu, while I take them out undetected using taijutsu and ninjutsu.”

“Yeah, unless I beat the crap out of em first.” Naruto smirked before suddenly coming to a stop.

I immediately tensed, focusing yoki into my eyes, my surroundings sharpening in clarity. “What is it, did you see something?”

Sasuke’s sharingan scanned the canopy for any threats as Naruto walked over to a bush and… _unzipped his pants?!!_ “What the hell are you doing idiot?” His glare threatening to burn a hole in Naruto’s head.

“What does it look like? I need to pee.”

“Weren’t you just listening? There are trackers out hunting the weaker teams, and as far as most of them are concerned, we as rookies, count as weaker. You’re piss is just gonna lead them to us faster.” Sasuke snapped.

“But I really gotta go, guys!!” Naruto whined.

“Why didn’t you go before the exam started?” I asked.

Naruto laughed sheepishly. “Well, I didn’t need to then.”

“Can’t you just… hold it or something?” Sasuke sighed.

“No!!! I really, **_really,_ ** gotta go, come on guys!!” Naruto crossed his legs in desperation.

Sasuke and I shared a look of exasperation. “Well… If he wets himself, it’ll be even worse for us.” I reasoned.

Sasuke let out another sigh before relenting. “Fine, but I don’t want to see you do it. So why don’t you go over there and try not to get any on yourself.”

“Thanks! You guys are the best.” Naruto quickly ran off to go pee.

 

After a few minutes he came back, zipping his pants back up. “Man, you guys wouldn’t believe how much I had to go, I almost wrote my whole name!” Sasuke punched Naruto in the face before pulling out a kunai. “What the hell was that for! Kagame you better watch out, I think Sasuke might have lost it!” _His face._

“ **Hermit purple.”** The spectral vines emerged from my sleeve wrapping around the imposter and binding his hands behind his back. “Nice try, but Naruto got a cut on his cheek before the exam started.”

“Not to mention the fact that Naruto is right handed, and you have your shuriken holster on your left leg.” Sasuke scoffed. “Even Naruto’s transformations aren’t this sloppy.” Sasuke walked up to the imposter and delivered a chop to the back of his neck, knocking him out. His transformation dispelled, revealing a rain nin wearing a strange jumpsuit and rebreather. **_Kill him, kill him, kill him, kill him…_ **

I undid my jutsu as Sasuke checked his body for a scroll, coming up empty handed. I walked over to him, kunai in hand, ready to deliver the finishing blow before Sasuke grabbed hold of my wrist. “What are you doing?” I asked.

“I could ask the same of you, we already beat him, we’re done.” His eyes reverted to black, searching for something within my own.

**_He doesn’t understand, he’s a naive child. If we don’t kill him now he could come back with reinforcements. We need to end this now._ **

Sasuke kept his iron grip until the yoki eventually drained from my eyes. “Fine, but that just means he could become a threat later.” I snarled. Sasuke’s face softened, tension leaving his shoulders.

“It doesn’t matter. If we see him again, then we’ll beat him again. It’s that simple.” Sasuke stripped the shinobi of his clothes and weapons before hiding them under the roots of a nearby tree as I tied him up and hung his legs from one of the taller branches. _I’m better than this, I’m supposed to be able to control myself._

When I finished I lept down to the forest floor to help Sasuke search for Naruto, who as it turns out was thrashing around bound and gagged.

“You know, I think I might like him better this way.” Sasuke said, a smirk etched across his face as Naruto’s thrashing grew more violent at the comment.

 

We walked sedately, Naruto rubbing at the rope burns on his wrists while I kept trying to blink away the stinging in my eyes. An hour had passed before we stopped again in a small clearing, the leaves blotting out the sky entirely, casting a shroud of darkness.

I closed my eyes as we crouched, focusing chakra in my eyes, soothing the burning itch. _This would be a nice place to nap._

“We need to figure out a way to tell if any of us has been replaced in case we get separated again.” Sasuke suggested. “The easiest way would be to develop a password.”

“Okay well what should it be?” Naruto asked.

“The question we’ll ask is: When is the time for a ninja to strike. And the password will be: A ninja waits till the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the moment for a ninja to strike.” Sasuke recited.

“What? That thing is so long! I thought you said password, not pass-sentence!” Naruto complained.

“What, are you too stupid to remember it?” He scoffed.

“No, I remember it just fine!” Naruto said glaring.

I opened my eyes to glare at Sasuke when I felt a sudden burst of killing intent, followed by a violent discharge of wind ripping through the clearing. I tried sticking my feet to the ground with chakra, only for the wind to break apart the earth itself, sending us all flying in a storm of dirt, leaves, and huge splinters of wood.

I rose to my feet as the wind died down, tearing off the left sleeve of my yukata which was pinned down by debris. Cuts and bruises littered my exposed skin. The clearing around me was unrecognizable, entire limbs of trees scattered about the upturned ground.

 

**Sasuke pov**

I quickly regained my bearings, scanning the forest for both enemies and my team. I didn’t have to wait long before both Naruto and Kagame emerged from the foliage. Kagame looking like he took the brunt of the attack, hair a mess, skin littered with small cuts, and clothes torn and dirty.

I pulled out a kunai before either could get into striking range and asked, “When is the time for a ninja to strike?”

Naruto opened his mouth almost immediately as Kagame’s nose twitched, “Easy, a ninja waits till the time is rig-” He didn’t get to finish even the first sentence before Kagame threw a kick to his head, a kick that Naruto blocked all too easily, moving more fluidly than I’ve seen him on even his best day. Kagame’s eyes widened in surprise as Naruto grabbed his ankle, yanking him off of his feet and throwing him. Kagame’s body crashed into me before I could move, toppling me over and knocking the air out of my lungs.

Kagame quickly scrambled off of me to stand, stance primal as yellow and silver mixed in his eyes. I took in a deep breath as I got back to my feet, trying to keep both of them in my sight.

The person wearing Naruto’s face smiled unnaturally wide, a raspy feminine voice escaping their lips. “I’m surprised you could tell I was an imposter, you must be quite familiar with your teammate to notice.”

“Not really,” Kagame snorted, “You reek of nightshade and formaldehyde, a pretty distinguishable scent.”

“Really. Well I wasn’t expecting the nose of an Inuzuka or Hatake, so I didn’t bother with such a precaution.”

 _There’s something not right about this guy_. “What did you do with Naruto?” I demanded.

The imposter chuckled, a long tongue spilling out of his mouth, reaching far past his chin before circling around and retreating back inside, despite looking too large to naturally fit in a human mouth. “By now, I have no doubt that he’s been devoured by the denizens of these woods.” They released their transformation to reveal the grass nin from earlier.

Kagame tensed, the yellow fading from his eyes. _Good, I need him to stay calm._ I shifted my full attention to the woman before us.

My eyes widened as she pulled out an earth scroll from her weapons pouch. “Ahh, so you’re looking for an earth scroll. Well, I won’t make it easy for you.” She then opened her mouth unnaturally wide, her tongue wrapping around the scroll, and swallowed it. “When this is all over, one of us will have both scrolls, and the other will be dead.” She said as her fingers lowered her eyelid.

 

**Kagame pov**

It was cold, so cold. I couldn’t feel my body at all. Nothing below the neck. I was staring up at a ceiling, or maybe a wall, maybe even the floor, it shouldn’t be this hard to tell. _But I can’t tell… I can’t tell… if I’m looking up or down or sideways_. It was like that for hours.

And then a man dressed in black came, _I can’t see his face_. It’s not that it’s covered, it’s more like, no matter how hard I try, my eyes just won’t look at his face. I decide I must be looking up, as he’s bending down over me.

And then, he placed both hands on either side of my head. And he just… lifted me up. _That can’t be right, there should be resistance, what about…_

My eyes widened in shock as he turned my head to the side. Lying on the floor, was a collection of severed limbs and a torso. But no head.

“You’ve made quite the mess of yourself. It looks like we won’t be having any more use for you.”

My vision blurred, as tears streamed down my cheeks. I moved my mouth to speak, but I couldn’t push any air through, I couldn’t even make a sound as he started moving. Footsteps echoing on hard stone floor, as my body got farther away.

Emaciated girls with dark hair and bruised skin crawled over to the pile of gore and began tearing flesh with teeth and claws. Squelching, ripping, crunching. _Their eating me_ , **_eating my flesh._ ** Fighting over which piece is theirs to eat, hitting and pushing and pulling to get at my body and eat.

I tried to scream, _that it’s my body, it belongs to me, they can’t do this to me,_ **_not after everything that I’ve done for them, they can’t just throw me away, it’s not fair, I’ve done more for them than half these wannabe pieces of shit._ ** But nothing comes out, it’s just the sound of tearing flesh, crunching bones, and rhythmic steps. _It’s like I’ve already died._ **_But I haven’t, I’m still right here, they know I’m right here, I’m still alive, they can’t do this to me!_ **

 

**Sasuke pov**

_He can’t be here. He can’t. He left. He can’t come back. Why is he here._

I was trembling, as that man looked down at me, red eyes piercing through me. All around me, _they’re all dead, everyone is dead, and He did it_.

“I did it to test my strength. It was quite disappointing. None of them put up that much of a fight.” _He says it so casually, as if he was talking about the weather_. “Will you be any different.” It’s not a question though, He already knows the answer.

My body is screaming at me to move, to do something, anything. But all I can do is sit and stare as He raises his sword and thrusts it into my shoulder.

I cried out in pain as He twisted it and pulled it out, only to cut into my leg, and my stomach, and my chest. He stared down at me, bored. _This is boring for Him._ _His sword is piercing through my heart, and He’s bored._

 

I fell to my knees and vomited, I was struggling to get more air into my lungs, my arms trembling. I couldn’t make myself move. I needed to move. The grass nin was waiting as I tried to stand and failed. “Ka-Kagame…” He was trembling next to me. _We have to get out of here, get away from her._ I pulled out a kunai and stood. _I need to move._

She pulled out two kunai of her own and sauntered forward. “Now what happens? Will you just stand there, or will you fight? Either way, I’ll make sure to make it quick.”

I thrusted my kunai into my leg, pain searing as my sharingan spun to life. Her kunai were sailing through the air in slow motion. I dodged to the side towards Kagame, his trembling had stopped, his eyes looking right into my own, clouds of gold swirling around silver until they had been fully engulfed, morphing into a sickly yellow. It was the first time I had seen them in such detail. He stood immediately, before I had even touched the ground and followed me up into the treetops.

When we stopped, he went right for the kunai still buried in my leg and pulled it out. I stifled a yelp of pain, _barely_.

A giant snake rose behind him, and he turned to throw my bloody kunai. It buried itself in one of its eyes as it reared back to strike. Kagame went to the right while I fled to the left. _He created a blind spot so it wouldn’t be able to see him._

The snake coiled up a tree and chased after me, it opened its mouth, ready to swallow me whole midair. The face of that grass nin came to mind when I saw it, fear coursing through my veins as I threw a flurry of shuriken into the waiting maw. The snake recoiled before falling down, head resting against a tree branch. Its scales cracked apart as the grass nin emerged from it’s corpse, covered in a thick coating of saliva.

“I can sense your desperation and fear, prey must always be alert when in the presence of a predator.” Her tongue emerged, making a beckoning motion, before her torso shot up the nearest branch, stretching and coiling around like the snake she emerged from. _What the hell is she?!_

She stopped short as kunai and shuriken embedded themselves in the branch. Naruto’s loud boasting rung through the air, “Looks like I came just in time.” He was standing with his arms crossed, a smug grin on his face. “Oh, and what was that password again?”

“Naruto! Get out of here you idiot, you don’t know what you’re getting into!” I shouted. “She’s too strong, you need to run while you still have the chance!”

“ **Hermit purple!”** I turned to see Kagame swing towards us, his vines disappeared as chakra welled up around his right arm. The grass nin reared back as Kagame’s fist just barely missed, and destroyed the branch she was just coiled around. Wood and shreds of cloth scattered as Kagame stuck to a nearby tree trunk. “Quit talking like we’ve already lost! We’re still alive, so we have a shot! Desperation, only makes an animal more dangerous!”

It’s then that my gaze travels to his right side, the fabric torn away from the force of his hit revealing his bare arm, dark purple splotches traveling up towards his shoulder. His fingers crooked and bleeding. “They’ll do whatever it takes to survive!” He added. _Even sacrifice a limb._

“My, my, what fiesty morsels you’ve all been. But don’t think you can get away.” As she said this, she lifted her sleeve to reveal a tattoo. She bit her thumb and ran it down her exposed arm, leaving a streak of blood. The branches beneath her shattered as another snake, identical to the last one, appeared out of thin air.

“So it was your snake back there! The one that tried to eat me!” Naruto shouted.

One of her eyes moved to look at him, while the other stayed perfectly in place, piercing gaze running right through me. “Why yes it was, I was hoping it would have digested you by now. It’s such a shame to lose two magnificent specimens in one day, but I have plenty more waiting in the wings.”

“Wait!” I shouted. “I’ll hand over the scroll, you can take it, I don’t care.” I deactivated my sharingan as I pulled the scroll marked ‘heaven’ out of my pouch.

“A wise decision, when confronted with a predator, it’s wisest to sacrifice something even more enticing.” She ran her tongue over her lips, salivating at the prospect.

I tossed her the scroll, only for it to be intercepted. The vines from “ **Hermit purple** ” closed around the scroll and realed it in towards Kagame.

“What the hell are you-” I didn’t get the chance to finish my sentence as Naruto’s fist connected with my face.

“I know who I am, but I’m not so sure about you.” There was a look of anger and… disappointment in Naruto's eyes. “The Sasuke I know, would never just give up like that, no matter how hard the fight!”

“Sasuke. Monsters like her don’t let prey escape.” Kagame’s tone was sharp, the pain from his attack clear on his face. “Even if we give up the scroll, this woman has already decided to kill us. Our only choice is to fight, if we don’t…” He doesn’t have to finish the sentence, I already know what he’s going to say.

“So quit feeling sorry for yourself and let’s kick this lady’s ass!” Naruto jumped forward, kicking and punching the snake with reckless abandon.

The grass nin blew out a ball of fire, sending Naruto crashing down through several branches as Kagame swung under the snake by his vines, vaulting up to kick the woman while she was distracted, sending her flying off of her mount. Kagame reigned in his vines, digging into the snake's head as it thrashed about. Naruto jumped back up as the snake broke free of them, and delivered a devastating axe kick. The snake fell through the dense overgrowth, crashing down to the forest floor. Kagame and Naruto shared a moment of victory, panting hard from the effort, before being interrupted by the grass nin.

She grabbed hold of Kagame’s neck and slammed him into the branch, knocking the air out of him, before twisting her body to roundhouse kick Naruto. She then lifted Kagame up and hurled him through several branches. He spat up blood as he landed on the final one, his arm bent at an odd angle. He tried to get up, but he could barely manage to catch his breath, laboring to suck in air through gritted teeth. The yellow in his eyes dissipating as he slumped back down, the red mark around his neck already changing purple as the last shreds of his consciousness faded.

Naruto charged forth screaming, arm at the ready. But she dodged every blow. Her tongue darted out, wrapping around Naruto and lifting him into the air. She lifted up his shirt to reveal his stomach, exposing what looks to be an elaborate black tattoo, and jabbed her fingers into his skin. “ **Five pronged seal.”** Blue flames licking at his skin as she tossed him aside. He landed on top of Kagame, unconscious from the strange jutsu.

 _It’s just me left. I’m all alone… She’s going to kill me!_ My heart was hammering away in my chest, fingers shaking, my lungs couldn’t take in enough air.

“So, will you be any different from them?”

 

_“Will you be any different.”_

 

_“The Sasuke I know, would never just give up like that.”_

 

_“Those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.”_

 

I bared my teeth as my body started to shake, not from fear, but from anger. I could feel my sharingan spinning faster than before, pain stinging the back of my eyes. I looked at Naruto and Kagame, battered, bruised, _broken_. The image searing into my mind, creating a perfect memory, taking in every little detail, missing nothing. _I can’t ever forget this moment. I can’t let them get hurt like this again, not when all I did was sit around and do nothing. I’m not the scared little boy from that night anymore!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy is this a serious one. Hope you liked it! Comment below! And if you haven't noticed yet, I posted a playlist on part three of the color silver. If you have any suggestions for more songs feel free to share!


	23. Monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For atmoshpere during Kagame's second pov, make sure the whisper and spirit sliders all the way up  
> https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/evilCharmRPGSoundscapeGenerator.php?c=0&l=3030303099999999999900&d=0
> 
> Please comment below and tell me how you feel about the chapter! Or tell me about how you feel about the story as a whole!

**Kagame pov**

_God, what the hell is on me? It’s so fucking heavy._ As I tried to heft the weight off, I was instantly stopped by a shooting pain in my right arm. **_God fucking damn it! That hurts like a mother!_ ** I clamped my mouth shut, a muffled whine building in my aching throat.

I opened my eyes to orange fabric and leaves. Not too far away I could hear the sounds of battle. I squirmed out from underneath what I can only assume is Naruto’s prone form and poured as much yoki through my arm as I could manage, bone shifting back into place as I let out a shaky breath.

My eyes scanned the surrounding wood until they rested on Sasuke, holding the grass nin in place with ninja wire. “ **Fire style: dragon flame**.” A huge burst of fire escaped Sasuke’s mouth, igniting the ninja wire in his teeth, rapidly spreading towards the grass nin. The flames converged into one point and exploded outwards, engulfing her in a towering inferno, her screams echoing throughout the forest, despite the roar of the fire. The flames danced wildly as Sasuke panted heavily, exhaustion showing on his face, knees trembling, threatening to give out from under him.

I looked down at Naruto, eerily still, his skin warm to the touch, a faint flickering of that aura from wave centered around his stomach. So much like yoki, yet... not. But I’m broken away from it by the sudden flare of chakra from within the flames.

I watched as the fire dispersed completely, the light dying out instantly. The grass nin walked forward, breaking the ninja wire that had pinned them down. Her face was, _melting?_ She let out a raspy chuckle, her voice changing, becoming deeper, more masculine. “Such brilliant flames, I thought I might have been in some real danger there for a moment. It’s too bad that all flames, no matter how large and daunting, all burn out, dwindling into fleeting embers.” _So I’m not the only one who was pretending to be a girl._ “Still, I think you’ll do rather nicely.” The grass nin rubbed at their headband, revealing a musical note. _I don’t get it, why would they… What’s going on?_

Sasuke let out a yell of frustration, shaking in place. _Some kind of paralysis?_ His screams were silenced as the grass nin- _sound nin?_ \- continued, “You have such keen eyes, even keener than Itachi’s.”

“What the hell do you want!” Sasuke yelled, thrashing about violently.

“My name is Orochimaru, and as for what I want, I’ll tell you when we meet again, but first a parting gift.” His head shot forward, neck elongating.

I grasped at my remaining chakra, pushing it all forward, reaching out. “ **Hermit purple.** ” The vines twisted around his neck as I jumped back, pulling him away as I fell, thorns scoring the wood. I came to a sudden stop as his head slammed against the tree. I hissed as pain radiated from my shoulder, chakra barely keeping it from dislocating.

Rather than hearing desperate gasps for breath, I was met by the sound of wet squelching. I looked up to see his mouth stretch open, eyes widening as two pale hands came out, followed by a head of black hair. He chuckled as he pulled the rest of his body out of the husk of skin, now flattened against the trees by my vines. “And here I thought you were out of the picture. That was quite the surprise you gave me, but no matter how valiant your efforts, I’m afraid you’ll only delay the inevitable. You see, this is the only possible outcome when in the face of a superior being.” He pushed the hair out of his face, _his new face_. It was stark white with purple markings around his eyes… _his eyes!_ Yellow with slit pupils. I felt my whole body shake, ice coursing through my veins as I stared up at him, at those eyes, _he can’t have those eyes!_

He smirked, jumping away and landing in front of a still paralyzed Sasuke. I let out a shaky breath I didn’t realize I was holding. And then… I felt his aura flare, but it was different this time. _This… this isn’t intent to kill… it feels so much worse… what the hell is this feeling…_

He sank his teeth into Sasuke’s neck, the malevolent aura spiking as Sasuke screamed in pain. I could barely even maintain my chakra, my vines threatening to vanish under my tightening grip, blood streaming down my arm, warm and wet. I wanted to do something, to look away, to run, to get as far away from this-this… _monster, this yoma… yoma are real… they’re really still real… they’re supposed to be dead, extinct, gone… I-I can’t… I’m not ready… I’m just…_

 

_“You’re not shinobi yet, not until you’ve walked the line between life and death countless times and come back. You’re all just a bunch of kids playing ninja.”_

 

Tears streamed down my face as I realized that Zabuza had been right. _We weren’t shinobi, we still aren’t. We’re just a bunch of idiot kids, stupid, useless kids who are way out of our depth._

Orochimaru released his hold on Sasuke and began to phase into the tree he was standing on. “You’ll seek me out in your own time, once you understand the power I can give to you.”

Sasuke let out one last scream before collapsing. _It's just me now, me, alone_.  _No one left, no one to tell me what the hell I'm supposed to do._

I released my jutsu, falling unceremoniously on my butt. I tried to stand, but only fell back down, my legs shaking like a leaf in the wind. My breath coming out in shaky gasps as I decided to crawl towards the trunk, propping myself up against it as I tried to regain my composure.

_Is this what it means to be an adult? To look death in the face, to realize how weak and insignificant you really are?_

**_You can not falter, not even for a moment._ **

 

I screwed my eyes shut, willing the flow of tears to end, but I might as well have been trying to hold back the rain for all the good it did. A sob wracked through my body, ugly and harsh. I slid back down, tears and snot dripping onto the bark. _I was supposed to have a human life… this isn’t something normal people have to deal with… the other teams… there’s no way any of them are experiencing this kind of absolute terror. Stalked and throttled by an inhuman beast… wearing the skin of another person as if it were their own…_

I took in as much air as my struggling lungs would allow, and screamed. I screamed until my voice was horse, my one good arm struggling to keep me up as black dots swam across my vision. Screaming and screaming, screaming, crying, snot, tears, shaking.

 

**Shinichi pov**

We had been tracking a team of rain nin for several hours. Hatsume was leading us after them from a safe distance while we suppressed our chakra. She said that they didn’t seem to have very big chakra reserves, but it was better to be safe than sorry. We came to a stop as the sun started to descend below the horizon. Hatsume’s shoulders tensed, her chakra leaking out before she wrestled it back under control. 

“What is it, did they change direction?” Sakura asked.

“No, it’s not them.” Hatsume paused to lick her lips. “There’s a crazy strong chakra signature to the southeast. It’s pretty far away, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem for us, but… If I sense it again… We might need to change course.”

“And what about the enemy?” I asked.

She gave me a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry, they didn’t seem to sense me. We’re in the clear.” She turned back forward. “Come on, let’s move.”

 

**Kagame pov**

Eventually I stopped. I took in breath after breath, air burning my raw throat. Eyes stinging as tears dried on my cheeks. I stood, surprisingly stable considering how I was earlier. I flexed my right arm, noting only a slight discomfort remained, a small cluster of yoki centered around the area of the break. _It must have been awhile if it’s almost been healed._

I jumped over towards Sasuke, stumbling a bit as I landed. I knelt down by his still form, checking him over. I brushed my hand against his neck, eyes widening in surprise as I felt the hot pulse of yoki. I sent a wave of chakra into him. It was spreading out, digging into his chakra coils. I removed my hand and noticed a strange mark right above the puncture wound from Orochimaru’s bite. It was in the shape of three tomoe, like Kakashi’s sharingan. “What did he do to you…”

I moved onto his leg, cleaning the wound before bandaging it up and lifting Sasuke onto my back. I lept down to the forest floor and set him down before going back for Naruto.

The aura from before was no longer present. Whatever it was, it would have to wait for later. _My best bet would be to ask Naruto directly._

 

Using **hermit purple** to map out the surrounding area, I found an alcove under a tree that we could hide under.

**_‘Now’s your chance.’_ **

I jumped, frantically looking around for the source of the voice, kunai at the ready.

**_‘Take it.’_ **

There was an itch, one at the back of my head, _no, more like… inside of it._

**_‘That power is from our clan, it is ours.’_ **

_“What the hell is going on?”_ I hissed.

**_‘It belongs to us, that snake stole it.’_ **

_“Snake?”_

**_‘It’s yours for the taking, all you have to do is reach out for it.’_ **

I grasped my head, shaking as the itch spread, growing larger, changing into a steady burn. _“What do you want? Who are you?”_

 **_‘It’s right there, just waiting for us.’_ ** I turned my head towards Sasuke, the yoki in his neck flaring. **_‘See? It’s even calling out to us. Because it is our birthright, it is our power to hold.’_ **

I was kneeling before him, leaning down closer, an orange flame pattern blossoming outward from the mark.

**_‘Take it, and taste true power. Reclaim it for our clan. You’ll never feel helpless again. Take it, and absolve yourself of your sin.’_ **

_“My sin?”_

My lips pressed against his neck, heat radiating into me from the contact. _He smells so nice._ The scent of burning wood wafting into my nose, _but underneath there’s a trace of bile. So faint that I could have missed it._ My lips parted, taking his neck into my mouth. _But right now… I can’t say that I care._ I sank my teeth into his flesh, breaking skin, tasting blood. Sucking the delicious flavor into my eager mouth.

**_‘The sin of weakness.’_ **

Warmth flooded into me, pulling yoki with it, spreading into my veins, teeth sinking deeper. Sasuke mewling weakly underneath, my hand on his chest, feeling his heart thundering against me, muscles twitching minutely.

‘ _G_ **_i_ ** _V_ **_e It t_ ** _O m_ **_E.’_ **

_I feel so warm, so… good. I want more, I need **more**. _ Yoki expanding from my stomach, rushing to meet with the yoki flooding my mouth, mixing together, reaching out across my whole body. _It’s becoming hot, so hot, so good. This burning hot flame, I never thought it could feel like this._

 

**Shinichi pov**

We slowly made our way towards the enemy camp. They were setting up for the night, securing sleeping bags to some of the lower branches of the great trees. Hatsume spanked Sakura on the behind before signaling to head over to the left side of the clearing while I circled around to the right. _Why did she spank her? She could have easily just tapped her on the shoulder…_

Hatsume threw a kunai at the rain nin, explosive tag fluttering behind as it sailed through the air. Before it could hit, their leader threw a kunai of his own, stopping it’s progression. Hatsume activated the explosive tag, a large cloud of smoke filling the clearing. The rain nin darted forward towards Hatsume’s position, breaking through the cloud cover with a wind style jutsu.

I rushed forward, as did Sakura. She threw a handful of shuriken which were quickly deflected by a kunoichi.

The nin closest to me broke away from them to throw a sloppy punch my way, he was a rather brawny man who looked to be easily twice the age of his teammates, _if not more_. I easily dodged it, kneeing the man in the groin. He quickly collapsed, letting out a high pitched whine. I then lifted my leg into the air and delivered an axe kick to his exposed neck, knocking him out, a smirk forming from how easy he made it. _No wonder he’s so much older, this guy sucks._

The enemy leader Hatsume had been fighting was littered with kunai, blood streaming down his countless wounds. He stumbled backwards before falling over. Hatsume looked down at him, she seemed… disappointed, maybe even bored.

I turned towards my last team member, Sakura was sent flying back by the same wind style attack from earlier. The enemy kunoichi lept forward, speed enhanced from expelling chakra from the soles of her feet. I rushed forward as she pinned Sakura face down into the dirt. From the corner of my eye I saw Hatsume smile, forming a half ram sign. _Why would she…_ As she did so, sparks lit up from within Sakura’s weapons pouch. _Oh crap!_ The kunoichi’s eyes widened as she let go of Sakura, she lept backwards as the sparks grew more intense.

I reached down and ripped off the pouch, tossing it into the air. It exploded seconds later, I braced myself as a gust of hot wind blew past me, shards of hot metal slicing my arms and legs. I opened my eyes nothing but clouds of dust rolling by. “Sakura!” I called out.

“I’m, I’m fine! What about you and Hatsume?” Relief flooded through me upon hearing her voice followed by surprise at myself for diving in like that.

“A little worse for wear, but I’ll live.”

The clouds dispersed after a few moments, revealing Hatsume rifling through the fallen kunoichi’s gear, before pulling out an earth scroll. “Ah hah! Here we are!” She chuckled. “It’s too bad that guy I fought wasn’t the real leader, I would have loved to have a real fight with this girl.” The kunoichi layed there motionless, burns covering her body, clothing charred.

_Hatsume… She was smiling, talking like nothing happened at all. She… she was the one who did it. She was planning on killing us from the start. She didn’t even try to stop me from running to help Sakura._

She turned to look at me, brows furrowing slightly. “Something wrong, _Shin_?”

I swallowed, trying to find my voice. I looked at her forehead, anything to avoid staring into those eyes. _How can she just pretend like she didn’t try to kill us…_ “Y-yeah, I… I’m just a bit shaken, I guess.”

“Oh yeah, that was scary, wasn’t it. I was worried you guys wouldn’t make it for a minute. But at least we’re all fine, and hey look at this. We have both scrolls now, so if we get to the tower before sunrise, we’ll have plenty of time to recover before the next exam.” My eyes scanned her face as she spoke, looking for something, _anything_. Some kind of… proof, that she at least felt bad for what she had done. But I couldn’t find anything. _Her smile, it seems so genuine. I can’t even tell she’s lying from looking at her. How many other smiles were fake…_

She squeezed my shoulder as she put away the pilfered scroll. “It’s over now, so don’t worry about it. We’re all gonna be fine.” She soothed.

 

After a few hours of travel we made it to the tower, the sun had just begun to rise by the time we arrived. We opened the scrolls once we had entered to be greeted by our sensei. He talked about some kind of poem about earth and heaven, how they correlate to mind and body. Weakness and ignorance. It was a little hard to pay attention to him, my eyes kept drifting back to Hatsume who was nodding her head attentively. _I always knew you were ambitious, but to go to those kind of lengths._

“Shinichi!”

I snapped to attention. “Yes sensei!”

“Have you been paying attention to a single word I’ve said?”

“Ugh, yes sir. I’m sorry, I’m just a little tired right now.” I said weakly.

“Tired or not, what I am telling you is important. Your career as a shinobi hinges upon what happens next, do you understand?” The vein above his left eye bulging slightly.

“Yes sir, sorry sir. It won’t happen again.”

 

After our meeting he led us to the tower’s second floor, where the dormitories were and handed us each a key.

“For the next four days you’ll be staying in your own assigned rooms. You can bathe, change, and rest. If you need food, there’s a mess hall on the third floor. Don’t lose your keys, or you won’t be able to reenter your rooms. I’ll come to meet you on the last day of the exam. Stay out of trouble and don’t antagonize the other candidates.” With that he vanished, leaving us alone.

Hatsume placed her hand on my shoulder and sighed, “You should really be careful Shin, if you keep up like this,” She narrowed her eyes, grip growing tight. “You’ll end up worse than Sakura.”

She unlocked her room and closed it behind her. I let out a breath of relief, my shoulders sagging.

“Hey… Shinichi.” Sakura’s voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. Her fingers were interlaced. A nervous habit I’ve seen in her whenever she feels conflicted.

“Um… Sakura…”

We stood in silence like that for a few minutes, neither really sure of what we should say.

“I’m sorry.” She looked down at the floor, shifting her feet.

“Sorry? For what?”

She chewed on her lip before looking up and answering. “For putting you in danger like that… If I had been better… Then she wouldn’t have had to do anything, and you wouldn’t have had to save me.”

“You… knew it was her.”

“I’d have to be stupid not to figure it out. She’s never liked me, and it was the perfect opportunity to take care of that. No one would have asked any questions.” She stated matter-of-factly.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I said around the lump in my throat.

She looked at me confused. “The same reason that you didn’t say anything either. Because she’s terrifying.”

“She tried to _kill you_!” I hissed.

“I know. But I’m still here, I’m fine. And when this is all over, she’ll be gone, and I won’t have to see her ever again. Once she’s promoted, she’ll be doing missions with other chunin and our team will be dissolved.”

“You’ve… been looking forward to this… How long have you been waiting?”

“Since our very first mission together. I can’t stand Hatsume, she’s an asshole who doesn’t care about anyone but herself. I just want the exams to be over, so I can go on missions by myself. I don’t care if they only ever have me do D-ranks. It’ll be more than worth it to have her off of my back.”

She turned to her room and unlocked it, before she could close it I put my hand on the door. “I’m sorry too. I should’ve confronted her before… I guess I was just mad about being in class B. I wanted to be in class A so badly, they get the best sensei’s, and people know who they are. No one ever bothers to learn the names of class B. Because none of us are from the big clans, we don’t get the same treatment… And you were a civilian… you got to be in class A because of some stupid quota, even though I showed more promise, even though my family were shinobi. And I was mad about-I’m _still_ mad about it! And I let her treat you like shit because of it.” I was panting by the time I was done.

“Shinichi.” She stood there in the doorway, refusing to look back at me. “She was going to let you die too. Hatsume can’t be stopped or controlled. She’s a lying, backstabbing bitch.”


	24. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1\. to rouse or be roused from sleep or some other inactive state  
> 2\. a recognition, realization, or coming into awareness of something

And then just as soon as it began, it was over. The heat radiating through my body died out, retracting into the tight ball in my stomach, winding even tighter, shrinking into one condensed point. All that power, slipping through my fingers like water. My jaw unclenched, mouth awkwardly pressed into wet flesh, the taste of metal suddenly unappetizing on my tongue. I pulled back, spitting blood into the dirt, guilt and disgust at myself welling up. _What the fuck am I doing here…_

My eyes wandered over Sasuke’s prone form, his breathing more even and less ragged sounding than before, skin looking pale rather than flushed.

“I-I’m… I’m sorry.” I whispered, voice swallowed up by the silence of the forest.

_Silence?_

I bolted out of the makeshift camp and scrambled to my feet, eyes drinking in the clearing around me. The sky turning to a pale purple with a line of orange encroaching from behind the tree tops. _Visitor’s already, huh._

I stood ramrod for a few minutes as my eyes darted around, trying to find something, anything to indicate where the enemy may be hiding. My nose twitching, trying to pick up what my eyes couldn’t, only for the smells of the forest to be drowned out from the blood of yesterday’s fight.

_God I’m a fucking idiot. Just fucking smashed my face right into his neck and chomped down like a wild animal._

Despite the continued silence and the lack of any movement I didn’t relax at all. _I may not have proof that anyone’s here, but it doesn’t get this quiet without reason_.

_I mean come on! The birds are so fucking loud with their damn chirping every fucking morning, I’d have to be an idiot not to notice their absence! Well… more of one than I’ve been anyway…_

Regardless, I was about to return to my team when I suddenly found that I couldn’t. My body struggling to no avail, like there was some invisible force holding me in place.

“ **Shadow possession** : complete.” _That voice!_

Team ten stepped out from the undergrowth, my body moving in sync with Shikamaru, my hands forming the same sign as his.

“Good job Shika! I was worried that he found us for a minute.” Ino bounced over next to me and rifled through my weapons pouch until she fished out the scroll. Her smile quickly faded, “Awww, come on! Another lousy heaven scroll.”

Shikamaru sighed loudly before dropping his jutsu, “You mean we did all that work for nothing, what a drag.”

“I told you guys it was a stupid plan, we should have just teamed up with that Kabuto guy. I’m sure he already found both scrolls by now.” Choji whined.

I stood there, dazed as Ino handed me back my scroll, my eyes zeroing in on the neat kanji. **Heaven**. It felt heavy in my hand.

“And I told you, that guy was a serious creep and I’d rather die than spend a single night anywhere near him!”

“You’re just mad that he stole your look, _a_ _nd_ wore it better.” Shikamaru smirked.

“You wanna say that again?!”

 

After some more teasing from Shikamaru and cooing over how “precious Sasuke-kun is in his sleep”, Ino led the rest of her team out of the clearing in search for another team to fight.  _I guess she didn't notice the bite mark on his neck._

Ino said something about seeing us, or at least Sasuke, in the next round. Shikamaru slouched lazily, throwing a hand up before he disappeared after her. And Choji… well he stopped to look at me nervously for a few seconds before rushing after them.

I resumed my position near the outside of the makeshift shelter, feeling all around shitty. Not only was I unable to defend my team against an enemy attack, but I was an actual detriment to their safety. In my moment of weakness, I saw every fear people had about my clan come to light.

 

_I too am a monster wearing human skin._

 

The thought immediately reminded me of that shinobi, slipping out of disgusting melted flesh, covered in a thick, viscous slime. _Skin that wasn’t even his. I wonder if even that snow white skin at the end was really his either, or if you could peel that away too and find something even less human._

I lifted my hand up to the sky, blocking out the light with my palm. _If someone peeled away my skin, what would they find underneath? Would it be the same kind of innards as everyone else, or something otherworldly and grotesque? My true self, completely unrecognizable, even to my own eyes._

 

I sat there and waited, watching the sun slide up to its highest point and then fall back down behind the canopy, the sky turning orange and red. No one else broke into the clearing. Sound returning to the forest, cicadas shrieking, birds chirping. It felt… well it _should_ have felt peaceful. But after what happened yesterday, _well I’m sure anyone would be paranoid in a place that is literally called The Forest of Death._

I let out a sigh as I stood up after hours of being totally still, my joints cracking loudly. _I need to shake myself out of this funk if I’m going to be of any use._ I settled into my stretching routine, chakra circulating as I let out a few breathy moans.

“What are you doing?” Sasuke’s voice cut through the air, causing me to lose balance and nearly face plant.

I stumbled awkwardly before turning to face a groggy Sasuke. “Oh, ugh, hey- Sasuke, um, wh- y-you’re awake.” My face felt hot as I spoke.

I stood there silently for a few moments while Sasuke blinked the last vestiges of sleep from his eyes. _What the hell am I supposed to do now? Oh hi Sasuke, while you were asleep I tried to take a big ol’ fucking bite out of your neck and nearly lost our scroll! God, if he finds out then he’ll never trust me again!! But I can’t just fucking lie to him either!_

_**But if he never asks, does that count as lying?** _

_But it’s not like he would ask me if I tried to fucking kill him in his sleep!_

“-ame. Kagame.” His voice sliced through my panic induced reverie.

“What?” My voice a few octaves too high.

“I asked if you were alright.” His eyes narrowed.

“U-ugh, ye-yeah, no, I-I’m fine, totally fine, yep, um, no problems here.” _Oh my god, how am I a fucking shinobi when I can’t fucking lie for shit._

“Kagame.” I was trying desperately to avert my gaze, shame burning bright on my cheeks, trying to look just about anywhere but at Sasuke. “Kagame.”

“Y-yeah?”

“When is the time for a ninja to strike.” Well that certainly threw me for a loop.

“T- what?” I finally looked back at him, his expression serious, eyes pinning me in place, kunai drawn.

“When is the time for a ninja to strike.” _What kind of fucki- Oh shit! The password! I totally fucking forgot!_

I let a sigh escape before steeling myself. “That’s stupid. I’m not answering because it was a stupid, _stupid_ password.” I answered as I crossed my arms. _And I don’t remember it. At. All._

He smiled as he lowered his weapon. “It’s you alright.”

I blinked in surprise, mouth open like a dumb fish. “I’m sorry?” I asked.

“I knew you would tell me it was stupid, and that Naruto would forget. That’s why I came up with it.”

“W- well, why did you even ask me it? You’ve been asleep for a _whole day_! If I wasn’t me, I would’ve already finished you off before you even knew what happened!”

“You always get all weird and closed off when something’s wrong. So I made you stop and act like yourself again. So what _is_ wrong?”

“Don’t even need the sharingan to read me like a book, huh? Well besides almost literally everything…”

“You still have the scroll, right?”

“Well, yeah?”

“Then we’re fine. We can still win this.” He then turned to Naruto and kicked him in the ribs, eliciting a surprised yelp. “Wake up idiot, we need to get going.”

“What the hell was that for, bastard!” Naruto jumped to his feet, fists clenched tight.

“I’m sorry, did I interrupt your beauty sleep, princess?”

“Oh yeah! The way I see it, you’re the one who’s a princess here, Sasu-chan! After all, I’m the one who rescued you from that big snake!”

“And then got your ass kicked.”

“We _all_ got our assess kicked.” I sighed.


	25. Split

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1\. A tear, crack, or fissure in something  
> 2\. A thing that is divided  
> 3\. To break or cause to break forcibly into parts

It wasn’t long after Naruto and Sasuke woke up that we decided to head out again. After a quick check from my **Hermit Purple** we began our trek towards the river.

It wasn’t long before Naruto started whining however, “Are you sure we’re going the right way?”

“When it comes to directions, my hermit purple has never steered me wrong. Besides, you saw the map it made for us, just like I did.”

“But we’ve been walking for almost an hour now!”

“Just because it was only a few inches away on the map, doesn’t mean it’s only a few inches away in real life, idiot.” Sasuke muttered.

“Sasuke, that’s not very helpful.”

“What? I’m on your side.”

“We’re a team Sasuke, there aren’t supposed to be sides!” Naruto said, rather smugly.

“That’s actually… a really good point, are you sure you’re actually Naruto?” I asked.

“You aren’t the only one who can be smart ya know!”

“Hey Naruto, when is the time for a ninja to strike?” Sasuke asked.

“I already told you that I don’t remember the stupid password!”

“Hn. It’s him alright.”

“You guys think you’re so funny!”

 

Once we arrived at the river we took a break to refill our canteens and wash up a bit. It was… a little awkward, _at least for me anyway_. Then again I was feeling a little weary about myself since the incident with Sasuke _._ I kept feeling like someone was staring at me, but whenever I would look at my teammates they would be focusing on getting the stains out of their clothes, neither one even looking in my direction. _Maybe I’m being a stupid, paranoid bitch._

 

**Sasuke pov**

I had activated my sharingan while we were cleaning our clothes in order to get a better look at my team, _just to see if they were okay_. Naruto didn’t show any signs of being injured at all though. As for Kagame, aside from the scars and stretch marks all over his body, he seemed fine. Even Kagame’s arm, _which I am sure was broken yesterday,_ had miraculously healed. _Though I guess he did say his yoki release increased regeneration, but to this degree? It seems a bit much, what kind of drawback did you have to suffer to fix that? Is that why you've been acting so strange since I woke up?_

I shook my head, deactivating my sharingan, _I don’t really have time for this right now, we need to finish as quickly as possible to get out of this death trap._

I started scrubbing extra hard at a particularly stubborn stain in my shorts, the one from when I stabbed myself. _I can’t have someone tracking the scent of my blood._

As I was scrubbing at my shorts I noticed something in my reflection. I reached up to touch my neck, wincing at the pain. The image of that- _Thing?-_ flashed through my mind. Their neck elongating unnaturally, a completely different _person_ crawling out of its mouth. Pain spreading throughout my body as teeth sank into my neck.

 _That’s right, that thing bit me._ I splashed my neck with some water and scrubbed as gently as I could, the water running down my shoulder turning a rusty reddish color. When the blood washed away it revealed a grey mark in the form of three tomoe and, _two sets of bite marks?_ One of them looked like two puncture wounds, the kind you would expect from a snake, the kind that I felt when his mouth was pressed against my neck. While the other looked distinctly human. _But I was only bit once, wasn’t I?_

 

After a few ration bars, at the insistence of Naruto’s stomach, we redressed and followed the river deeper into the forest. We moved at a steady pace the whole day, stopping for fifteen minute breaks every few hours. We kept moving even after the sun had set, the tower finally coming into view against the backdrop of the moon.

After a few hours of traveling in the dark Kagame stopped. “Hey, I just noticed something.” Silver eyes glowing in the moonlight. “We’re not getting any closer.”

“What!” Naruto shouted. “But we’ve been walking for hours!”

“Relax a little, it hasn’t been the whole time. We’re a lot closer than we were earlier.”

“So it’s a genjutsu of some kind, one to make us walk around in circles without noticing to exhaust us.” I added.

“Well, we’re kinda exhausted now though, so what happens next?” Naruto asked.

“They attack.”

Dark blobs oozed up through the ground, taking on the shape of a man in a black jumpsuit, _with bandaged up eyes_. His headband labeled him as a rain nin. “Give us the scroll.”

“Not on your life!” Naruto shot forward growling. As his fist landed, the rain nin’s body exploded into black goo. “It’s… a clone jutsu?”

“Well it sure can’t take a hit, even Naruto’s can handle more than a lousy punch.” I muttered.

The black goo suddenly began to move, the clone reforming with two connected torsos. “Give us the scroll.” They spoke in unison, one swiping a kunai at Naruto’s shocked form. He dodged the blow before landing another hit of his own, only for the clone to reform. No matter how many times he tried, the black ooze would just come back together. After a few minutes more clones began to emerge from the ground, all of them replicas of the original.

Kunai were flying from every direction, whenever we managed to dodge one another would be aimed for where we retreated to.

“This strategy, it’s the same one we were going to use! That rain nin from yesterday, he must have overheard us!” Kagame shouted, yellow creeping into his eyes. “ **That slimy fuck! I knew I should have killed that bastard!** ” He pulled out a handful kunai with paper bombs attached and threw them into the mess of clones. “ **Take this!** **Katsu!** ” A series of explosions went off, scattering black ooze throughout the clearing. The triumphant smirk on Kagame’s face didn’t last long though, as the ooze once again reformed.

“ **Tch. Hermit purple!** ” Vines shot out from Kagame’s arms, encircling a number of the clones, binding them together. However, the clones merely walked forward, moving right through hermit purple. The vines fell to the forest floor before dissolving entirely. “ **B-bu-but they can’t just! I-I mean- how?!** ” Kagame let out a sigh, yellow turning back to silver. “I don’t get it, how does this jutsu work? There has to be some kind of weakness.”

“Don’t worry about it guys, just leave it to me! **Shadow clone jutsu!** ” For every one of the enemies clones, Naruto made two of his own.

 _That’s it!_ “Instead of finding a weakness to the jutsu, why don’t we just wait for the real ones come out.”

Kagame’s eyes lit up in understanding. “Naruto, can you turn two of your clones into copies of Sasuke and me?”

“Yeah, no problem!”

As Naruto formed the sign to create more clones I activated a smoke bomb, Kagame and I retreating into the trees. Once the smoke cleared we were left staring at a pair of perfect replicas. The real Kagame flew through the hand signs for a notice-me-not genjutsu as they fought, his chakra engulfing the air around us as it erased any and all signs of our existence. His eyes closed in concentration as he held the ram seal.

We waited for hours as Naruto and our copies fought, the enemy still remaining hidden the entire time. It wasn’t until near sunrise, when Naruto was on the brink of collapse, that the rain nin finally showed themselves. Their clones evaporating in the first rays of light from the early morning sun.

“We’ve crushed your spirit, now it’s time for your bodies.” _Kagame was right, this is the same guy from the first day._

Kagame’s eyes snapped open, glowing yellow. He disappeared in a flash, the cool steady flow of his chakra around me turning hot and erratic. He reappeared in front of the team of rain nin almost instantly. He phased through the one in the middle and stopped behind him. “ **Elegance.** ” A sickening crunch followed immediately after as his head spun around, neck broken. He fell to the ground in a dull thump.

Kagame turned around slowly as the remaining ones tried to process what just happened. His voice deeper, fuller, reverberating through the forest. It sent a shiver through my spine. “ **Give us the scroll or you’ll be next.** ” He flashed them a smile as they quickly handed it over, showing too many teeth, canines seeming sharper than normal.

“ **You’re rather lucky, you know. This earth scroll is exactly what we needed, so I’ll let you go.** ” He let out a sinister chuckle before finishing, “ **This time, anyway.** **Naruto, Sasuke, let’s get the hell out of here.** ”

Naruto and I stood stock still as he reached the edge of the clearing. One of the rain nin pulled out a kunai, ready to strike, but then… “ **Katsu!** ” Two explosions went off, each coming from one of the remaining rain nin’s back. The force of the explosions sent them flying forward, blood smeared across the grass as they skidded to a halt.

“Kagame! What the hell! Why did you do that?! It was over, we had the scroll!” Naruto shouted, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “We already won! You didn’t have to do that!”

Kagame turned around, face carefully blank as he spoke, “ **Naruto, our village has been in three wars already, this exam is supposed to mimic what it’s like on the front lines, to prepare us for the wars of the future. If you can’t kill your opponent, then they will kill you. I thought my demonstration of attempted mercy made that clear. As soon as they saw an opportunity, they were prepared to take advantage and kill me. Would you have rather I done nothing, and merely accepted my demise?** ”

Naruto stood up and growled, “Shut the hell up!” He shot forward and punched Kagame in the face. “Kagame wouldn’t say that stuff!” He continued to punch Kagame, sending him reeling back. “He’s kind, and considerate, and he cares about what happens to other people! He’s not a heartless killer!” His last punch sent Kagame falling to the ground, hair sprawling out around him. Naruto lurched forward, barely managing to avoid falling face first into Kagame’s prone form, his arms struggling to hold him up. “I know you’re still in there, so please, don’t let it control you… You’re not a monster!”

“ **Are you done yet?** ” _Even after all that, his face was still completely blank._

I slowly walked over to them, Naruto glaring fiercely as he stared into Kagame’s eyes, tears flowing freely now, dripping down onto his impassive face. I placed my hand on Naruto’s shoulder and gave him a gentle shake.

“Come on, I’ll help you walk to the tower.” I helped Naruto to his feet and draped his arm around my shoulder.

For the next hour and a half we walked behind Kagame, heading straight for the tower. No one said anything, there was nothing to say, not with Kagame like… _that_. Even the way he walked was different, it was somewhere between a march and a prowl, lofty, proud, predatory. His footsteps were much louder than normal, distinct in sound. It wasn’t like anything I had seen or heard before, it wasn’t even how the civilians or nobles moved. It was incredibly… off putting. Nothing like how he normally walked.

Now he certainly wasn’t completely silent, but it was much softer. He walked with a certain rhythm, producing a unique sound pattern. It was nice to listen to when we would walk to hokage tower for our missions, especially against the wooden floor of the building. It was totally out of sync with everyone else's footsteps. I don’t really know how it was possible, but I could never figure out how to copy that pattern. _Maybe if I used my sharingan to watch him_.

My musings were cut short when we arrived at the exams tower. We entered a room that was empty, all except for a banner with a poem written on it.

“ **Here.** ” I flinched back as Kagame thrust the earth scroll into my face. I carefully took it as Kagame put his thumb under the seal of the heaven scroll. “ **Are you ready?** ” It was creepy how he could speak without any kind of inflection at all, _I mean, I know I can be a bit monotone sometimes, but from Kagame… It just seems wrong._

I nodded my head as I split open the seal, “Yeah.” We unraveled the scrolls together seeing an image that looked like a person on the inside of both. We quickly threw the scrolls across the room when smoke had started to spill out of them. I was incredibly surprised to see our old academy teacher, Iruka sensei, standing there when the smoke had cleared.

“Congratulations, you passed the second exam!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a like and comment!


	26. Real Food and New Pajamas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, hope you enjoy anyway. Comment below.

**Naruto pov**

We did it! We actually made it! _ I mean- not that I ever doubted my awesome ninja skills.  _ But we actually passed the second exam!

And I got to see Iruka sensei! I thought the poem he told us was really lame and kinda complicated, but it was still really nice to see him again, especially after all the crap we had to deal with in the forest.  _ I just wish he didn’t have to call me dumb in front of Sasuke, not cool! _

I turned off the hot water from the shower and toweled off.  _ I missed hot water so much, I’d stay in longer, but I’m starving! And ration bars taste like chalk, so they don’t count as real food!  _

I quickly changed into the clothes Iruka sensei had given all of us. He said they were a present from Kaka-sensei for passing the second exam. Matching shirts with the number seven on them and the most comfortable pajama pants I have ever worn in my entire life.

I stepped outside my temporary room and locked it behind me. Kagame and Sasuke were already waiting for me there, wearing the now official Team Seven Pajamas.

I stopped when I saw Kagame. He looked… terrible! He was slouching, barely able to keep himself standing, skin flushed red. His eyes were all red and heavy lidded, but they weren’t angry or blank looking, and most importantly,  _ they were silver! _

I scooped him up into the tightest hug I could manage, lifting him up into the air a few inches. “You-you’re-you!” I shouted.  _ He feels so warm, I wonder if he has a fever? _

“Yeah, um, you’re kind of crushing me.” He rasped. 

**Sasuke pov**

“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Naruto put Kagame down before releasing him.

Kagame waved him off, taking a few deep breaths. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Let’s just get to the cafeteria.”

“Aw yeah, real food here we come!”

It was nice to hear Kagame’s footsteps again, they weren’t as soft as they normally were, but he was exhausted so I could understand,  _ actually, I don’t think he slept the entire exam _ .

“Ditto, I need to shovel something down my throat before I pass out!” Kagame whined. I stopped in my tracks, Naruto lurched forward, stumbling a few steps before regaining his footing. We both faced him with twin looks of confusion before he asked, “What? Just because I don’t get hungry, doesn’t mean it’s not important to still eat. Now let's go! I’d like to get to the cafeteria today!”

 

Naruto was on the verge of tears as he sat at the table eating his third bowl of ramen, while Kagame had eaten an alarming amount of gyoza, tofu, and pork buns before promptly passing out. He was laying face down on the table with a half eaten pork bun clutched tightly in his hand.

“And here I thought he didn’t have much of an appetite.” I nearly choked on my tonkatsu as Kakashi appeared next to me at the table. Naruto didn’t seem to notice his arrival though, or didn’t care, and continued to slurp his ramen broth louder than humanly possible. “Though I suppose he is suffering from chakra exhaustion.” 

That seemed to catch Naruto’s attention though. He slammed his bowl onto the table, Kagame didn’t even move, and cried out, “You mean like you were, back in wave!”

Kakashi idly flipped a page and replied, “Yes, just like then.”

“But you couldn’t do anything for like a week, and Kagame has to be ready for the next exam in two days!”

Kakashi paused for a few moments before flipping another page, “If he doesn’t have the strength to go on by the time of the next exam, then this is as far as he’ll go this year. It’s as simple as that Naruto.”

Naruto stared down at his empty bowl, dejected. He looked like he was about to dispute for a moment before deciding otherwise. “Fine.”

Kakashi’s lone eye stared at him before flickering over to me. “By the way, I actually need to speak with you in private, Sasuke. It’ll be a little while so Naruto, why don’t you take Kagame back to your room and wait there until I come back.”

“Why do you wanna talk to him and not me?”

“Try not to take it personally Naruto, I just need to confirm something.”

Naruto looked ready to argue more, but a sharp glare from Kakashi quickly shut him down.

 

**Naruto pov**

_ It’s always about Sasuke! How come it’s never about me! Well I’ll show him, I’ll beat the snot out of Sasuke in the next exam and show everyone I’m the best ninja in the village!  _

_ But, it might be hard to convince them when I can barely hold up Kagame.  _ I had managed to get him onto my back and out the cafeteria, but I hadn’t made much more progress.  _ Seriously! Why the hell do you weigh so much! How the hell did Sasuke do it last week! _

Suddenly the weight disappeared from my back. “Sorry, but you seemed to be having some trouble. I hope you don’t mind my intervening.”I turned around to see a sound jonin put Kagame over his shoulder.  _ Why is it that all the pretty ninja have been guys lately, Haku, Kagame, and now this guy! It’s not fair! _

“Um, yeah… Thanks…” 

“My name is Furuku Enoshima. May I ask for you and your teammate’s?” His voice was so soft and silky.

“My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and the guy you’re carrying is Kagame. I have a third teammate, but he’s not here right now.”

“Uzumaki? I believe I’ve heard of that clan before.”

_ He’s heard of them! Someone actually knows something about my family?!  _ “No way!! Really?!” I shouted with a bit too much enthusiasm.

“Yes, perhaps I’ll tell you a bit about them. But first…” He gestured his head to Kagame.

“Oh, yeah, just follow me back to my room! I was gonna let Kagame rest up on my bed while I wait for my sensei to come back.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Orochimaru's being a naughty bitch.


	27. Poison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm really cranking out the chapters again, huh? Hope you enjoy! Feel free to comment below, I like hearing what you guys think! I hope you don't mind the shifts in pov that this story has.

I was standing in a pool of water, or rather standing _on_ a pool of water. The water reflecting the blue sky like a mirror, if it weren’t for the ripples I don’t think I would have realized it was water. But when I looked down to see my reflection, it was wrong. It was that woman again, the one who’s always whispering.

“It felt **good** , didn’t it?” She slipped out of the water, standing in front of me as the surface below turned violet with the ripples. The blue sky above turning red.

I took a step back, “No, I was out of control.”

She took a step forward, “ **WE** were **FREE**. **WE** were **OURSELF**.”

“I don’t want to be ourself, I want to be myself.”

“ **WE** were **STRONG**!”

“We hurt Sasuke!”

“ **WE PROTECTED OUR TEAM**!”

“They’re not our team, they’re my team!”

“ **YOU AREN’T STRONG ENOUGH ON YOUR OWN**!” Her voice was getting louder, my ears ringing as cracks formed in the sky.

“I can get stronger on my own.” Tears were flowing freely from my left eye as blood flowed from her right eye.

“ **AND YET, WHENEVER YOU’RE IN DANGER, YOU DESPERATELY SEEK MY POWER**.” The words were undoubtedly her’s, but they seemed to be coming from a large white serpent slithering out from her mouth, coiling around her shrinking form. It was like watching a grape sit out in the sun, as her body shriveled up and caved in on itself. The snake raised its tail and with a swift flick the woman’s skin fell to the floor, empty.

I fell backwards, hands sinking into something wet and slimy. I stared up at the serpent as it seemed to grow bigger, rearing its head back to strike. It shot forward, giant maw opened wide, ready to swallow me whole.

 

**Naruto pov**

Kagame woke with a start, his skin all red and sweaty. He was taking in deep, shaky breaths as Furuku placed a hand on his forehead. “You’re burnin up, you must have caught something rather nasty while in that forest. Perhaps we should take you to see a medic.”

 

“So who is this guy anyway?” Kagame whispered.

“His name’s Furuku, he’s really cool and smart! He’s been telling me about the Uzumaki!”

Kagame’s eyes widened in surprise, “You mean this guy knows about your family?”

I nodded excitedly, “Yeah, did you know they were all seal masters, or that we have more chakra and stamina than pretty much anyone else, or how we live really, really long, or that we were like royalty or somethin' before we came to Konoha! Oh, oh, oh, _and_ we’re related to the Senju, the clan the first Hokage was from! It’s like I was born to be Hokage!”

“That’s actually pretty incredible, I mean I know that technically anyone can be Hokage, but a blood tie to the first _and_ second could really boost your validity Naruto!”

“One would certainly think so at first glance, but sadly that just isn’t the case.” I felt my spirit plummet at Furuku’s words. Kagame's eyes narrowed as a scowl formed on his face.

“What do ya mean by that?”

“Despite being their relatives, the Senju only brought the Uzumaki to Konoha to use them as containers for the tailed beasts.” My blood turned icy cold, heart hammering in my chest so loud that I was sure they could probably hear it. “And once their home of Uzushio was destroyed, the rest of the Uzumaki scattered to the wind, preferring to live in isolation rather than become sacrificial pawns like those trapped in Konoha.”

“Tr-trapped?” I couldn’t hide the trembling in my voice as I spoke. _How could they do that to their own family…_

“Yes, trapped. Both Mito and Kushina Uzumaki were kept in Konoha as the prisoner wives of the first and fourth Hokage.” Furuku paused to hold open the door of the infirmary. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a team of my own that will be arriving shortly. I wish you a speedy recovery, Kagame-kun. Good luck to you both on the rest of your exams, and be careful when fighting my students. They are quite advanced.”

 

**Kagame pov**

The pink haired nurse drew a sample of my blood before leaving to analyze it. Naruto had been quiet ever since Furuku’s revelation. It was a little unsettling to see him like this, Naruto’s always so upbeat.  _I mean, sure, I get it_. That was a pretty big bombshell to drop, _and if I was reading the subtext right_ , Naruto is the newest ‘container’ from the Uzumaki. It also brings into question whether or not old man third is really soft on Naruto, or if he’s just trying to keep him on some kind of leash. _And what about me and Sasuke? Are we really just on team seven to offset Naruto’s low academic scores, or is it more like we’re the bodyguards for Konoha’s most powerful weapon/biggest threat?_

I released a heavy sigh and asked, “So you have the demon fox inside you, huh?” Naruto visibly flinched at my bluntness. _Maybe I could have been a bit more tactful in my approach._ “Listen, I can’t claim to know any of that fancy clan politics crap, but I know you, Naruto. And more than anyone else in the village, you understand the will of fire, something that most grown men don’t even get. So if anyone deserves to be Hokage, it’s you.”

“But, you heard what Fur-”

“So! He’s from another village, he could be lying to get in your head and mess you up! And even if he’s not,” I slammed my fist on my chest, _a bit too hard and started coughing a bit,_ “I’ll support you no matter what!”

It was at that moment, Naruto snot faced and tearing up and me red faced and trying not to cough up a lung, that the nurse came back with a sour expression, holding a clipboard. _I don’t know how long it takes to analyze blood, but it can’t be that quickly._ “Ryo-san, it would appear as though you’ve contracted Uchiha Fever. It’s not very common nowadays, but from your symptoms and the fact that you aren’t originally from the land of fire it wasn’t too difficult to deduce. You should be fine in time for the next exam, just take two of these with every meal.” She handed me an unmarked bottle with green, oval shaped pills before practically shoving us out the door. And I am sure I heard her mutter, “Shitty, bastard kids” under her breath.

“Someone needs to work on their bedside manner.” I grumbled.

“So… what do you wanna do now?”

“Well I don’t know about you, but I’m thirsty as hell. Let’s go back to the cafeteria, you’re probably hungry anyway and I need to take these pills.”

 

**3rd person pov**

“Shitty, bastard kids.”

After Naruto and Kagame had left, the nurse let out a sigh of relief. The infirmary walls and furniture warping as a banner emerged from the ceiling. Once the room had settled it was identical to the entrance room in which the genin had arrived earlier that day.

“You never cease to amaze me with your illusory prowess, Tayuya.” Orochimaru was leaning against the wall as Team Dosu knelt at his feet.

“Not to be disrespectful my lord, but are sure you can trust what this one-eyed dumbass saw was real?”

Dosu shifted, muscles tensing, “As I have said before, I would not dare lie to lord Orochimaru! That boy had stolen the chakra from the Uchiha’s curse mark!”

“I didn’t say you were lying asshole, I said that you were a stupid bitch with only one eye!”

Orochimaru pushed off against the wall, chuckling lightly, “If Dosu was in fact correct, then we shall find out soon enough.” He turned his head towards the sound genin. “So tell me, did you succeed in your other mission?”

Dosu relaxed under Orochimaru’s stare, “Yes my lord, the Uzumaki girl was secured. We have already passed her off to Kidomaru, he should be heading to the nearest hideout to drop her off as we speak. And Sakon has taken her appearance for the next exam.”

“Excellent, things are turning out far more interesting than I would have expected.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Orochimaru has his slimy hands in a lot of different pots.


	28. Preliminaries begin: Sakura Blossoms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are actually four fights that occur in this chapter, but Sakura's is one of the most important of those fights. Feel free to comment down below. Hope you enjoy!

I woke up to searing pain in my abdomen. Heat radiating through my body. I could feel my yoki ripping my insides and stitching them back together as I tried to keep it under control. All I could do was lay there, curled up in the darkness, arms wrapped tightly around my convulsing body. This was the third time I had woken up like this since arriving at the tower. I stayed like this for hours, whimpering quietly as I tried to push all of the pain down and focus on something else; I counted the specks on the ceiling over and over, recited my id number, I even tried to distract from it with other pain and cut open my palm with a kunai. _I’m not ready, not yet. I still haven’t lived enough. I want to make more memories, I like going on missions, and getting tired when I run, and listening to Naruto talk about ramen, and complaining about how late Kakashi is, and sleeping in a bed, and, and, and… I’m not ready… I’m not… I’m not a monster…_

I don’t know how long I laid there, but by the time the pain had faded I heard a knock at my door. I slowly got up off of the floor, _when did I get out of bed,_ my joints cracking as I moved. _God does that feel good._

I answered the door to see Kakashi standing there, eye crinkled in what I had come to know as his signature smile. “Yo, you look terrible today.”

I frowned, “Thanks, sensei.”

“Try to freshen up a bit, the next phase of the exams will be announced on the ground floor in an hour.” Kakashi held out a parcel wrapped with a white bow.

“Um, thanks? What is it?”

“Oh, it's just another little gift from your wonderful, thoughtful sensei, something for you to wear during your fight today. After all, I’d hate for you to embarrass me with those rags you and your team showed up in. See ya.”

 

There were splotches of purple, yellow and red spread out all over my abdomen, _and boy did they hurt like a bitch._ But as the cold from the shower water seeped into my skin, the soreness seemed to lessen just a bit. _How the fuck am I gonna do literally anything like this?_

I turned off the water and stood there for a minute, hands pressed against the cold wall tiles, staring at the vortex swirling down the drain. **_Along with your chances of being chunin._ **

I shook the thought from my head and toweled off. Once I was sufficiently dry I tore open the parcel left by Kakashi to see a white yukata with the number seven embroidered on the back. I brought it up to my face and inhaled deeply.

_This is my fucking yukata! He just stole it from my house and slapped a seven on it!_

I let out a sigh as I dropped it on the bed. _Well I guess it is better than the one I destroyed back in the forest, but this was like my favorite one and he just… ugghhhh… whatever, it’s fine… And… I guess I did buy it for my genin advancement anyway… so if I do get promoted to chunin, it’ll be a nice souvenir to remember… my old team by…_

 

We were lined up in an arena on the ground floor, old man third was giving another one of his boring little speeches that he just can’t seem to go one day without. It was even harder to pay attention to him than normal though as there were several overbearing presences in the room that were just oozing killing intent. _I wonder if anyone else can feel this shit, I should probably ask Kakashi about it some time._ The most notable presence was Gaara, he seemed to be even worse than when he had entered the village two weeks prior. _I hope I don’t have to go up against that guy._

My eyes ran over all of the other candidates in the room, trying to pick out those who I knew. I was a little surprised that all the rookie teams from our village made it, and even more surprised when I saw Sakura with short hair. _What could have prompted her to cut her hair, and now of all times? Why not before the exams? Maybe she kept it long so people would underestimate her for looking too girly. But then that just brings me back to the question of why cut it now._

I drifted back to attention when a sickly looking leaf jonin stepped forward. His name was Hayate Gekko, and he coughed _a lot_ during his introduction, but the gist of it was that there were too many of us here, so we would be holding a preliminary round to eliminate half of us. He directed our attention to the big monitor above us. Names flashed through the screen too fast to see until it stopped, showing the first two combatants who would take part in the preliminaries.

**Hatsume Katchi vs Kabuto Yakushi**

The two shinobi made their way to the center of the arena as the rest of us filtered up the stairs to the balcony. Even as Hatsume flared her bloodlust I found myself relaxing in the company of my team, Naruto and Sasuke eagerly watching with rapt attention.

 

The match didn’t last as long as I had thought it would, but I suppose with the third exam on the horizon it only made sense that a rookie crusher like Kabuto would be content with losing. It hadn’t taken long for Hatsume to wrap her whip around his waist and finish him off. “ **Lightning style: divine beast”** A huge jolt of electricity in the shape of a serpent flashed down her whip, causing Kabuto to scream in agony before falling limp.

 

The second match was between Shinichi and Misumi, one of Kabuto’s teammates judging by the outfit. _Either that or Ino’s been keeping up with the latest in men’s fashion._

The two entered a taijutsu bout, testing each other out and getting a feel for the other’s style. Then Misumi grabbed Shinichi from behind and coiled his body around him _like a snake!_

My knuckles tightened around the bars of the balcony as Misumi tightened around Shinichi. _Is this guy…_

“Don’t worry, I promise to make your death quick and painful, as I crush every bone in your body.”

 **“Phoenix style: flame pillar”** Flames engulfed Shinichi’s body, shooting up towards the ceiling, heat radiating as Misumi’s screams echoed throughout the arena. When the flames died down they revealed Shinichi standing there unphased with Misumi’s charred black limbs hanging loosely around him. Shinichi pried him off, chunks of burned up skin flaking off as Misumi’s stiff limbs cracked audibly. _I guess… I know it’s not Orochimaru in disguise again… so at least there’s that. Even if the rancid smell of burning flesh makes my eyes water. I doubt they’ll be able to save his limbs though._

“Be glad I am not so callous as to end your life, consider it a favor, from one leaf shinobi to another.” Shinichi’s voice betrayed nothing, but the crease around his eyes showed confusion and, _sadness? Guilt?_

“Kaka-sensei, was that purple guy serious when he said he was gonna kill Shin?” Naruto asked

“Well… There is a reason why I make my own rules, Naruto. Some people put the mission, or personal gain, above anything else. Even their comrades lives.”

 

The third round was Zaku vs. Kankuro. Kankuro dropped his strange bandage covered bundle on the ground with a heavy thump, jumping to the side as Zaku blasted a huge gust of wind from his palm. It was amazing how fast Kankuro was able to dodge all of Zaku’s attacks. _I wonder if he uses that big bundle he carries for weight training? It would certainly explain the speed he’s achieved. But then again, his teammate made it seem like it was some sort of weapon. But if that’s the case, then why isn’t he using it instead of jumping around the arena?_

I glanced back towards the bundle, ignoring whatever game Kankuro was playing. I noticed a slight movement coming from under the bandages along with a few glints of blue light. _Chakra?_ I tried disrupting my chakra flow to see if it was some kind of genjutsu only for nothing to change.

I nudged Sasuke in the side, gesturing back towards the bundle. He activated his Sharingan, running his eyes over the whole battlefield before turning back to me. “There are exactly ten strings made of chakra running from Kankuro to the bundle he dropped. And there’s a lot more chakra in that bundle than there is inside his body.”

“Well, that’s… strange. Which direction is the chakra flowing?” Sasuke narrowed his looking back and forth from Kankuro and his strange bundle.

“It’s flowing from the bundle.” The answer came from the Hyuga on guys team, veins bulging around his pearly eyes.

“Oh, thank you…”

“Neji Hyuga.”

“Uh, Kagame Ryo.”

“And I’m-” Naruto’s introduction was abruptly interrupted.

“I don’t care who you are.” _Sasuke was right, this guy does need to work on his manners._ “And just so you know, that one dodging is nothing more than a puppet, the real sand nin is hiding in the bandages, controlling his double using the strings.”

“So it’s not just another clone jutsu then…” I mused. Zaku was clearly starting to get fed up with his lack of progress.

“Well how come you can tell which is real and Sasuke couldn’t?” Naruto demanded, glaring daggers at Neji.

“Unlike it’s inferior counterpart, the byakugan can clearly see every detail of our opponents full chakra network.” Neji looked over each of us before adding, “And judging from what I see of all your’s, you should quit while you still can.”

Naruto was about to say something when a loud shattering sound drew our attention back to the arena. Standing in between Zaku’s extended arm and the bundle, now revealed to have Kankuro inside, was a now headless puppet. Zaku smiled before tilting his head in our direction, “Thanks for telling me about his trick little leaves!” _He heard us from all the way up here?!_

A hand emerged from the bandages and pulled, the real Kankuro standing up as his cocoon unraveled. He looked more than just a little miffed. His fingers danced as eight limbs extended out of his puppet's body, reaching out towards Zaku.

Another blast of wind from his palm sent the limbs flying through the air as he destroyed the puppet. The limbs paused in midair and shot forward once more, blades emerging, ready to strike. Zaku dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack and slammed his hands on the floor. The floor broke apart, rushing towards Kankuro and offset his balance. Zaku raced forward as Kankuro tried to regain his footing. Zaku delivered a point blank blast at Kankuro’s chest, sending him flying into the wall, knocking him out.

Zaku unfortunately, did not escape unscathed. Sticking out of his back was one of the bladed limbs from Kankuro’s double. Zaku reached back and pulled it out sharply before throwing it on the ground. He was declared the winner.

 

**Sakura Haruno vs. Ino Yamanaka**

Sakura and Ino stared at the screen in surprise and then looked at each other, conflicting looks crossing their faces as they descended the stairs. _I guess… I’d be conflicted too, if I had to fight Shikamaru._ **_Traitor._ **

 

**Sakura pov**

_Ino? That’s just my luck. Everything’s been going downhill ever since graduation, so why not throw my biggest mistake right back into my face._

We started fighting immediately, no name calling, no banter, no petty arguments. But… it was more like sparring really, not a real fight. I was holding back, and I could tell that Ino was too. Every kick, punch, hit, was blocked. Both of us using the standard katas we learned in the academy. Though I could still hear Naruto cheering for me from the balcony, so maybe the fight wasn’t so lame.

And then I slipped up. Her fist was heading straight for my face. I flinched, closing my eyes. But when the punch didn’t come, I opened my eyes. Her fist was inches away from hitting me; she had stopped.

“Ino…”

She dropped her arm, looking at me with pity in her eyes. I walked up to her and slapped her, glaring at her surprised expression.

“Don’t look at me like that! I’m not the same little girl from the academy anymore!” I untied my headband and brought it up to my forehead, realization dawning on Ino’s face as I did. She mirrored me as I tied it on.

 

**“When I wear this headband on my forehead, that is when I will call myself a true shinobi!”**

 

We stared into each other’s eyes, determination sparking inside, and raced forward, arms reared back, ready to strike. Our fists collided, chakra pouring out of both of us, creating a burst of air sending us both sliding backwards.

I raced forward making the hand signs for the clone jutsu while sending chakra to my feet. Ino moved to guard from the clone on her right. As my clones got close I dispelled them to create a smoke cover and sent Ino realling.

“I’m not the same girl I used to be. If you play with fire, you’re gonna get burned. So let’s see your best.”

Ino stood back up and smirked, “You don’t need to tell me twice.”

 

We had been fighting for what seemed like forever, for every hit I dished out Ino gave back just as good. It felt like the fight would never end. But it was Ino who broke first, frustration boiling over.

“This isn’t fair, when the hell did you become this strong?! This was supposed to be easy! I won’t lose to you, I refuse! I’m going to win this fight and Sasuke!”

“I don’t care about that!” Ino recoiled as if her dad had told her that Naruto was her twin brother. “Sasuke may be a better shinobi than me in every single way,” _but he wasn’t there when I needed him, someone, anyone!_

I ran forward and continued my assault with renewed vigor. _He wasn’t the one who held my hand when I was scared._ I aimed a kick at her ribs, Ino leaned back and slid underneath my leg. _He wasn’t the one who wiped away my tears when I was sad._ I let the momentum carry me and leapt across the arena, throwing shuriken as I spun back around. _He wasn’t the one who cleaned up my cuts when I was hurt._ She narrowly dodged, rolling out of the way before getting back to her feet. _He wasn’t the one who taught me how to smile, or who stood up for me when I couldn’t stand up for myself. That was all you Ino!_

“I didn’t become your rival because of some stupid boy that I’ve never even spoken to!” Her eyes widened in shock. “I did it because I was always just a bud, hiding in your shadow, waiting to bloom. I wanted to show you, that I could become someone who could stand on their own!” I punched her in the gut, “I’m not the sad, little girl I used to be!” Ino doubled over in pain, spit flying out of her mouth. “I am Sakura Haruno, shinobi of the leaf!” I kneed her in the chin, causing her jaw to snap shut.

Ino fell to the ground, unconscious. And just like that the match was over. I had won.  _But why isn't it satisfying?_


	29. An out of place forfeit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hated writing Sasuke's fight. A lot. Comment below.

Hatsume smiled and patted Sakura on the shoulder as she made her way back up to the balcony. “Wow Sakura, you actually won! Congratulations! I didn’t know you had it in ya! Hahahaha, that looked like such a fun fight, I’m wicked jealous! You just keep getting all the good opponents lately, meanwhile I’m stuck with weak little babies, it’s unfair I tell ya!” _Is this the same bitch we saw from the academy? She seems so different…_

“... Good job out there, Sakura.” Shinichi was much more sedate, voice soft, almost drowned out by Hatsume’s shouting. He seemed… wary, however, though what of I’m not sure.

Naruto, never one to be left out, basically threw himself at Sakura. “You were so cool out there, like, like, when you did that thing with your headband…” I tuned him out as the next match was announced.

**Shino Aburame vs. Kin Tsuchi.**

Shino dispersed into a cloud of insects and reformed in the arena as Kin jumped over the railing.

It was a… boring fight… Kin threw senbon all over the arena, some of which had bells on the end of them. She pulled on ninja wire she had attached to them, ringing the bells at random intervals. I’m not really sure what the point of it was, but it seemed to not be doing anything, which was pissing off Kin to no end. _Maybe it’s to psych out her opponent? Or to distract them from some other attack?_

Shino didn’t seem to react at all to the bells though, just continuously dodging the oncoming barrage of senbon. Eventually Kin ran out of weapons and Shino released a swarm of black, buzzing insects. _Oh! I get it! His bugs are blocking out the sound so he didn’t notice the bells! But I do wonder what they were supposed to be doing in the first place._

When Shino’s bugs retreated back into his coat, Kin was revealed unconscious on the floor, completely drained of her chakra. Her body was covered in small red dots where she was bitten.

 

The next match featured Lee’s female teammate, Tenten, and a _muscular, tall, imposing man with beautiful, long, untamed black hair_ . He was _bare chested_ , wearing _tight_ purple pants with a green fur cloak tied around his waist. He was a waterfall shinobi named Akio Suji. Judging by the lack of any other waterfall shinobi in the balcony, he was the only surviving member of his team. He moved silently, with a serene aura, confidence radiating from him. _He’s rather handsome-calm! He’s rather calm! To be the only member left… I don’t know how he can look so… aloof. Any one of us would probably be a mess if the others died._ **_Unless he killed them himself…_ **

Tenten starts off the fight by opening a scroll, summoning weapon after weapon to throw Akio’s way.

“ **Lightning style: Assassin’s Instinct** ” lightning charged through his body as Akio dodged each of Tenten’s weapons. He moved so quickly I could barely register where he was moving to as he disappeared right before any of the weapons could make contact with him. Despite his speed he was only just inching forward as Tenten flipped backwards, producing two scrolls from her weapon’s pouch.

“I was hoping to wait until after the preliminaries to use these. **Twin Rising Dragons.** ” The scrolls rose up into the air as they unraveled, spiraling in a double helix as smoke engulfed them in the form of two dragons. Tenten jumped up, summoning a wide variety of weapons in quick succession, littering the arena in sharp metal as Akio continued to dodge, his form becoming a total blur until I couldn’t see even a hint of green or purple. If it weren’t for the sparks coming off of his body I would have lost sight of him entirely.

Having run out of weapons to summon from her scrolls Tenten pulled on the ninja wire attached to her weapons, ripping them out of the ground.

Akio stopped moving, form finally coming back into focus, he pulled off his cloak, revealing a summoning sigil on the inside. He pulled out a long spear, making a wide sweeping motion with the weapon. “ **Wind style: Air Slicer**.” A gust of wind sliced through the ninja wire, causing the weapons attached to go flying undirected. He then thrust his spear into the air. the lightning from his body pooling into the metal point. “ **Lightning style: Spider Shock.** ” The lightning from his spear discharged, jumping from each of Tenten’s weapons, forming a cage of lightning around her before converging into one point. Tenten’s pained screams filled the arena as metal rained down on the arena floor. Tenten fell as the lightning dissipated, but Akio had caught her in his _big, muscular arms_ before she could hit the ground.

 

The match between Dosu and Temari was far less impressive, at least for Dosu anyway. He tried to do something with the strange device on his arm, but was interrupted by Temari’s “ **Wind Scythe.** ” The noise from the wind storm she whipped up was deafening, I couldn’t hear anything over the sound of wind whipping through the arena. When the wind died down Dosu’s body was littered with large cuts, red soaking his bandages as the medics carted away his body.

I took another look at the device as he was carted through the doors. Metallic, with several holes going through it, cylindrical in shape. _Is it supposed to be some kind of instrument? If air were to pass through those holes, it would probably make some sort of noise, but for what purpose? It’s a shame it was such a bad matchup for him, I’d like to know how that thing works._

 

The next match was over before it could even begin. I half expected it to be Shikamaru who quit, but it was in fact Karin _Uzumaki_ who had forfeited. _But she was another contestant who showed up as the last member of her team left alive. Why would she just quit after making it this far?_

“What a relief” Shikamaru sighed.

“Are you really _that_ lazy?” Ino scoffed. “I mean I knew you were a slacker, but this is a new low, even for you.” _I hadn’t even noticed she had woken up, she’s usually so loud._

“You’re talking like it’s my fault she quit.”

“Well excuse me if it seems just a tad too convenient that the laziest bum here is the only person who doesn’t have to fight anyone!”

Meanwhile, Naruto had bolted towards the door as Karin was leaving. The expression on his face was… painful to look at.

 

**Naruto pov**

**_Uzumaki._ ** _There’s another Uzumaki right here. She’s right here and she’s about to leave._

I sandwiched myself between her and the door, extending my hand as I plastered on my best smile. It felt a little to much like when I used to line up with the other kids at the orphanage when adults came for adoption. “My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and-” I was cut off when she slapped my hand away. “Um… well, I just thought since we’re both-”

“So?” She glared at me through her glasses. Red eyes narrowing in annoyance. _Do all Uzumaki look like her?_

“I’ve never met another Uzumaki before, so I thought, maybe, ya know, we could get to know each other?”

“I didn’t come here to make friends, now get out of my way.” she hissed.

“Well why did you come here then!? You made it all this way and then quit out of nowhere! What was even the point!?” I regretted my words as soon as I had said them. She got even colder, if that was possible, and brushed past me through the door.

My feet carried me back up the steps of the balcony as the screen flashed, showing the next match: **Sasuke Uchiha vs. Kiba Inuzuka.**

Sasuke smirked as he passed by, his hand resting on my shoulder. “Don’t let some idiot girl distract you, you still haven’t won your match yet.” I turned to watch his back as he made to stand across from Kiba. "It'd be pretty embarrassing if you were the only one form our team to fail the exams."

 

**Sasuke pov**

_So it’s me and dogbreath, huh. This shouldn’t take too long then._

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, Uchiha.” Kiba cracked his knuckles, snarling in what would be a menacing fashion _if it weren’t for the fact that I beat him in at least a dozen spars in the academy_. _But this isn’t the academy anymore, this’ll be a real fight, so I had better take things seriously._

 

**Kagame pov**

Kiba was amazing. His strikes were too fast for Sasuke to keep up with, he and Akamaru were flashes of spinning color whirling around Sasuke. Shuriken and kunai flew through the air, deflected by sharp claws as Sasuke’s sharingan spun wildly. _How powerful is his sharingan that he can actually predict where Kiba and Akamaru are going to be?_

But as the fight dragged on Sasuke began missing his attacks completely as Kiba and Akamaru landed countless hits, leaving bruises skin and shredded blue cloth in their wake. The crest on Sasuke’s back had three large gashes in it, pink skin and blood. _Why is he still just using shuriken, can’t he tell he needs to switch strategies?_ Yet somehow Sasuke looked perfectly calm.

Sasuke shifted his stance, fingers twitching minutely. A glimmer of light caught my attention. _Ninja wire!_ Kiba must have noticed it as well, as he changed course. Sasuke dropped the wire immediately and threw one last shuriken upwards, high above him, lodging it into the ceiling. He flew through the hand signs for substitution and switched places with it.

“ **Fire style: dragon flame.** ” Fire shot down to floor, separating Kiba and the transformed Akamaru. When the flames died down Sasuke used another substitution to switch places with one of the Kiba’s. Sasuke shot forward to the remaining one slid under him as Kiba’s sharp claws attempted to make contact. Sasuke kicked out at Kiba’s exposed stomach, sending him into the air. He continued his assault, sending Kiba further up with each strike. He then disappeared in a flash and reappeared behind Kiba. _Is this…_

But instead of wrapping his arms around Kiba, Sasuke extended his leg and slammed it down into Kiba’s back to send him hurtling down into the floor. “ **Lion’s barrage.** ”

The other Kiba changed back into Akamaru in a puff of smoke, rushing across the arena to lick his fallen master’s face.

“The winner is Sasuke Uchiha.” Hayate rasped.


	30. Preliminaries End: Things are okay?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I did it! I made it through the prelims! Comment below! Hope you enjoy Kagame's fight, I rewrote it a bunch of times, and it was a little hard to decide which version was the best, but here you go!

Naruto very pointedly did not congratulate Sasuke on his win, though I doubt Sasuke had time to even register that fact before Ino was on him like a rabid jackal.

Naruto marched down to the arena with Choji tailing not far behind as their names appeared on the screen.

 

Choji’s partial expansion was… different from what i had expected. **_Nothing like Undine at all. Just a big, juicy ball of fat, ready to sink my teeth into._ ** I suppressed a shudder at the thought as Choji bowled around the arena, Naruto easily dodging to the side with little effort. Choji slammed into the wall, getting stuck as he continued spinning furiously, unable to dislodge himself. _This is_ … **_pathetic, a total waste of time and energy, how his clan managed to be anything other than canon fodder is beyond me._ **

Choji deflated and turned around before activating his family jutsu again. “Come on Choji, you can beat him! Don’t give up!” Ino shrieked.

Below, it seemed as though Naruto wasn’t really trying with the fight at all, his usual enthusiasm nowhere to be seen. _Though really, it doesn’t seem like either of them wants to fight._

“Come on Choji! If you win, I’ll treat you to as much barbeque as you can eat!” Asuma yelled.

Choji seemed to perk up at that, his speed increased rapidly, along with his turning radius. _Is that all it takes to motivate him?_ **_Sustenance is the impetus that fuels all life, a joy so grand it makes the toil and strife of their pitiful, and otherwise meaningless, existence bearable._ **

Naruto was still able to dodge his attacks, but it was becoming more difficult, nevertheless Naruto appeared to be enjoying himself, a genuine smile adorning his face. **_The thrill of battle, of fighting a strong opponent, it is something only a warrior can understand. But the real fun lies in what comes after, the stench of blood, the feel of shredded flesh under under your fingertips, the taste of-_ **

“Kagame” Kakashi’s hand rested on my shoulder. He stared at me with his one uncovered eye. My breathing was labored, fingers curled tightly around the railing, yoki coursing through my veins. I willed it back down into the pit of my stomach and turned my attention back to the battle in front of me.

“ **Shadow clone jutsu.** ” A dozen Naruto clones popped into existence in front of Choji’s spinning form, lined up behind each other to brace for impact. But something changed just before Choji could make contact. That same feeling from the bridge and the forest, wild and barely contained. The clones put their hands out, pushing back against Choji as he rolled forward, several of the clones dispersed in clouds of smoke before Choji stopped. Choji’s head popped up out of his boulder body, a look of surprise on his face. “ **Uzumaki** ” In a move mimicking Sasuke’s, _and I suppose by extension Rock Lee,_ the remaining clones gathered around Choji and kicked him up into the air. One final Naruto jumped up above Choji to deliver the finishing blow. “ **Barrage** ” Naruto’s axe kick landing right on top of Choji’s exposed head.

**_See, Naruto-kun freely accepts the Kyubi’s power. He’s a hypocrite, born with such an amazing gift that he uses without a single thought while shaming others for using their gifts, calling the sharingan cheater eyes, calling us a monster. But we weren’t the ones who destroyed his ‘precious’ village._ **

 

**Kakashi pov**

_Two out of three, so far so good. Though maybe I should have asked lord Hokage to have Kagame fight first. Whatever demon lies within him seems to be getting rather restless. I can only hope we don’t have to intervene when his fight does finally come. Though at least his killing intent isn’t on par with that boy’s._ Across the room Gaara was staring rather intently as Naruto ascended the stairs, bloodlust just barely contained, even if his outward appearance would suggest he were calm. _Did he sense the Kyubi’s chakra as well? For that matter, is that what caused Kagame’s sudden change in demeanor?_

“Kaka-sensei! Did you see my awesome win!” Naruto bellowed.

“Tch, you were just copying me, loser.” Sasuke scoffed.

“Oh yeah! Well _you_ were just copying Bushy Brow, so you’re the loser, loser!”

“Yeah right, at least mine was actually good, you had to use a worse version just to beat Foodboy of all people.”

 _Even after everything that’s happened, they still manage to find energy to argue._ “Why don’t you two save it for the finals, there are still a few more matches left and it would behoove you to observe your opponents techniques.”

Down below, the two Hyuga faced one another.

 

**Kagame pov**

“Withdraw now, you know you were never meant to be a ninja.”

**_Stop pretending you’re something you’re not._ **

 

“I wanted to see if I could change.”

_I can, I know it. I can be a human._

 

“People can’t change no matter how hard they try. They can’t run away from their true nature.”

**_You cannot change._ **

 

“To never give up, that is my nindo, my ninja way.”

_Hm, that’s just like something Naruto would say._

 

She lost. **_She couldn’t change, you cannot change. But we can._ **

Hinata layed there on the arena floor, bangs splayed back, revealing a green mark in the form of an ‘X’ on her forehead. **_Branded as subhuman garbage._ ** In front of her prone form stood Neji, arm outstretched, a look of surprise plastered on his face, surrounded by four jonin. **_Her blood smells sweet, it’s fitting for such a weak, innocent girl. I bet she tastes even sweeter._ **

“I don’t understand… why couldn’t my byakugan see it… why do you have that mark… this… can’t be right… you…” Neji murmured.

 

“Ohhhhhhhh. I really have to wait until the last match.” Lee whined.

“You just said you didn’t care if you went last, what did you think was gonna happen?” Tenten snipped.

 **_Oh? It seems it’s finally our turn to play. How delightful._ ** I made my way down to the arena floor, standing across from me was Yoroi Akado, the last member of Kabuto’s team. _You won’t be playing at all. This is my match._

“Begin.”

Yoroi rushed forward, hands glowing blue. I dodged backwards, weaving side to side as his hands whizzed past my head. One of them grazed my cheek, siphoning chakra from the brief moment of contact. Pain blossomed in my ribs as Yoroi’s knee rammed into my side, forcing the air out of my lungs. He pushed the advantage, delivering several open palmed strikes to my head before grabbing hold of my headband tied around my neck, pulling it loose and sending me back with a strike to the chest. As I regained my breath Yoroi renewed his assault, tossing my headband to the side. I tried to amass the chakra necessary for phantom’s mirage, but before I could build up my chakra it would disappear, siphoned by another of his attacks.

Another hit to my head and I heard something break, a glint of plastic falling to the ground, clinking on the floor.

 

**Kakashi pov**

_This isn’t good, Kagame isn’t suited for close combat, nor does he possess Naruto’s stamina. If the fight keeps up like this, he won’t last much longer._

Yoroi sweeped his legs, straddling Kagame from behind and forcing his face down into the ground, bangs falling to cover his eyes. “Pathetic little girl, can’t even fight back, can you? You couldn’t even stop me from taking your headband.”

 

**Kagame pov**

**_Won’t you accept it now? We are losing after all._ ** _Shut up._ **_He has us pinned, you can’t even reach into your weapons pouch. You can’t build up any chakra_** _, it’s all getting sucked up by those stupid, glowy hands of his_.  _ **You'll fail, and they'll leave you behind, forgetting all about you.**_

 _Calm down. There has to be something I can do._ **_Use me, let's be us._ ** I looked around frantically, eyes landing on a stray kunai from an earlier fight. _If I could reach it._ **_It’s too far, you can’t reach it, just let go._ **

I closed my eyes, trying to block out both the voice in my head and Yoroi’s taunts, focusing inward. The stream of chakra flowing into Yoroi was fast moving and large, most of it was being sucked up into his hand resting on the back of my head, but he wasn’t absorbing all of the chakra that was exiting my body. Instead, the excess was being released into the air. _So he can only absorb so much. So all I need is to make use of that lost chakra then._

 

**Sasuke pov**

“Kagame, you can do it!” Naruto shouted.

“Shut up, he’s trying to concentrate, idiot.”

“Concentrate, all he’s gotta do is beat the stuffing out of this guy.”

“Kagame doesn’t go into a fight without a plan Naruto, he’s trying to figure out his next move.”

“Yeah, okay, fine. But that guys still running his mouth! How can he just listen to that crap and not get mad?”

“Do you really _want_ to see Kagame get mad?” I arched my eyebrow at him.

He shivered before answering, “No, I guess you’re right… this time anyway.”

A flicker of light caught my attention, a shimmer of purple and blue from one of Kagame’s hands. “ **Hermit Purple**.” Vines shot out from his hand, wrapping around the hilt of a stray kunai and pulling it back. The vine arched, pointing the edge of the blade at Yoroi, who just barely dodged out of the way. A small cut appeared on his nose as he landed a few feet away. Kagame rolled to the side as his hands flew through the academy clone jutsu spawning two of them on either side of Yoroi as he stood up.

“A third rate jutsu like that won’t work on me, you little bitch!” Yoroi threw a handful of shuriken, lodging them in Kagame’s abdomen.

“ **Phantom’s Mirage**.” Kagame’s yukata fell to the ground as he appeared behind Yoroi, stabbing him in the lower back with a kunai. Yoroi turned to strike him, only for a second kunai to stab into his hand.

Kagame lept back, he and his clones circling Yoroi, his footsteps sounding purposefully loud, echoing as he walked in that strange pattern of his, hands weaving signs as he went. Multiple afterimages bleeding behind him as he walked, until there was a perfect circle of Kagames surrounding Yoroi. “ **Hitaikakushi**.” Kagame picked up his yukata, the circle around Yoroi turning completely white. _So this is it, the reason he walks like that, it’s all been training for this jutsu._

“ **Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell**.” A giant fireball appeared above Yoroi, stopping Kagame in tracks. Yoroi rushed towards him, striking him in the solar plexus as the fireball vanished, sending Kagame onto his back, gasping for air, his yukata falling to the ground.

“Kagame!” I gasped.

“Damn it!” Naruto roared.

 

**Kagame pov**

Yoroi stomped on my stomach, driving out any air my lungs had tried to reclaim. “You little shit!” He yelled, hand trembling as blood oozed from the wound. “You thought someone like you could beat me?!” His foot sank deeper as I desperately clawed at his ankle.

**_I’ve had enough of this shit! If you won’t use my power then fine, I don’t need you! I will be MYSELF!_ **

Yoki surged up from my crushed stomach, building up in my throat, hot and acidic. “ ** _Hermit Purple: Ruri'iro Kujaku_**.”

 

**Orochimaru pov**

Black tinted chakra emerged from Kagame’s throat, spreading into several tendrils that wrapped around Yoroi’s torso and limbs, steam rising as it made contact with exposed flesh. _So this is it, the power that Dosu sensed. His chakra didn’t even feel like this when he punched through that tree. I wonder how much stronger he would have become if I had just given him his own curse mark?_

Kagame snapped his jaw shut, the black tendrils discharging, before falling unconscious. _Now why would he go and sabotage his own jutsu like that? Rather disappointing._

 

**Naruto pov**

He lost. _Kagame lost_.

Black tar-like vomit spilled out of his mouth as the medics hurried him out of the arena. My fists tightened, I wanted to run down there, to do… _Something_. But Kaka-sensei’s hand on my shoulder stopped me. He squeezed tightly, I think it was supposed to be comforting.

The last match was announced, Lee would be fighting the only guy left, Gaara. _I guess I should be relieved it wasn’t Kagame who had to fight that freak._

 

That was… _bad… really bad… His leg_ …  _How can he still stand after his leg got crushed?_

 

The winners were all lined up in front of gramps and the scary guy from the first exam. He had us pull out paper from a hat to decide who we would fight. _I hope I get to fight Neji and Yoroi, those bastards need a good asskicking._

They went by each of us, asking what number we drew and wrote down our names on the whiteboard they wheeled in. A tournament bracket already drawn up. We were just about to start when that sound guy with the weird holes in his hands suddenly collapsed. He convulsed on the floor, foaming at the mouth, apparently that puppet guy used a poison weapon in their fight.

They had us redraw the numbers after the sound ninja died, _but I guess it kinda worked out, cuz we had an even number of people after. But it's messed up that the other sand ninjas didn't say anything about their teammates poisoned weapon, I mean, it's like cheating, right?_

  
Akio vs. Shino  
  
Shinichi vs. Hatsume  
  
Sakura vs. Yoroi  
  
Naruto vs. Neji  
  
Shikamaru vs. Temari  
  
Gaara vs. Sasuke

 

 _Sasuke has to fight that guy in the first round!_ I turned to look at him, expecting to see him shaking like a leaf, but he was smirking. _He really wants to fight him after what he did to Bushy Brow!?_

 

**Kagame pov**

_Mmmmmmmm… I don’t wanna get up… But I need to pee… wait a minute… I am peeing?_

I bolted upright, immediately regretting the action as I felt pain shoot through my abdomen. I inhaled sharply, muttering, “ _Fucking hell!_ ”

It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the sudden light, I was sitting in a slightly itchy hospital bed, out the window to my left was the village, trees and buildings lining the ground below. Sitting in a chair across from me was a partially obscured Kakashi. I brushed my hair to the side to get a better look at him, he was actually squatting on the chair rather than sitting  _like a normal person_ , _and he was_ _reading that orange covered smut_. “You should probably take it easy, you took quite the beating out there.”

I lifted the covers to look underneath, a tube with yellow liquid in it was running from the side of the bed up into- “What the fuck is that!?”

Kakashi looked up from his book, looking rather uninterested. “That is a catheter, it’s so patients don’t relieve themselves all over the bed when they lose control of their bladder. A word of advice, don’t rip it out yourself, there are quite a few shinobi that have to find that out the hard way.”

I quickly put the covers back down, feeling a bit too exposed in the revealing hospital gown. Heat rising to my face as Kakashi turned back to his reading. I coughed awkwardly, a little uncomfortable to be alone with just Kakashi. I turned my focus inward, trying to probe the extent of my injuries using my chakra… only I couldn’t feel anything. My body felt weak in a way that it hadn’t in a long time. _I can’t feel my chakra._ It wasn’t like when Yoroi was siphoning my chakra before I could use it, it wasn’t even like suffering from chakra depletion, _I couldn’t feel any of it at all_. “ _Umm…_ _I_ … _I can’t feel my chakra_ … _Sensei._ ”

“Hm? Oh, yes, the doctor said your tenketsu were forced close at the end of your fight. It was mostly from the damage you inflicted on yourself during your last attack. It’s nothing you should worry about, they’ll reopen once you’ve recovered more. Though you will have to set up a few appointments to purge some stagnant chakra. Just to make sure you don’t get a case of chakra corruption.”

“... So… I’m okay?”

“In a sense, yes.”

“... and in another sense?”

“Well… you did still lose your match.” Kakashi closed his book, putting it away to stare at me intently.

My hands tightened around the sheets of my bed unconsciously. “I mean… Yeah… but, I can always enter the exams again next year. And then…” I lifted my head, looking him in the eye, and flashed a smile. _A real, genuine smile_. “I’ll win next time, with my own power.”

Kakashi stared at me critically for another moment, before relaxing his shoulders. “That’s good to hear, but don’t think I’ve forgotten about your punishment.”

I immediately tensed up, my smile faltering as dread filled me once more. Kakashi laughed menacingly upon seeing my distress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things end okay, Kagame's fine, but snakethy is getting ready to fuck shit up in the final exam, and poor Lee is still crippled by Gaara. So things are okay... for Kagame. Pretty bad for everyone else though. And boy I bet you didn't expect that from Hinata, huh?


	31. Punishment and Growth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I briefly entertained the idea of calling this chapter 'Kakashi's a good teacher?'

_“I have a very special punishment set up for, your first solo mission!”_

 

Kakashi said that five days and two chakra purges ago, but I’m only just being released from the hospital now. My tenketsu, unfortunately, are still sealed shut. _I’m basically a civilian, and it fucking sucks. I’m tired, I’m slow, and I feel fucking shitty._ On top of all that, I don’t know anything about the final exam or what my teammates are doing.

I let out a sigh as I exited the building, Kakashi’s hand quickly descended on my head and ruffled my hair.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite little student.” _There’s no fucking way I’m your favorite student._

“So I’m getting that solo mission now, right?”

Kakashi’s face fell, “You’re always right down to business, aren’t you Kagame.”

“Well you did say this was a punishment.” _And I kinda want to just get it over with._

It was now Kakashi’s turn to sigh, “All right, follow me.” Kakashi led me to an apartment building, leaving me behind once we arrived to jump up to the fifth floor.

I let out a long groan. _Even if I could use my chakra, I don’t think I could make that kind of jump._ I walked up the stairs, feeling more apprehensive the higher up I went. _What kind of mission am I possibly gonna do here?_

Kakashi was leaning against the railing, reading his filth when I finally made it to the fifth floor. “You know Kagame, it’s rather impolite to keep someone waiting.” _IS HE FOR REAL!?_

My eyes narrowed as I pursed my lips, using every ounce of willpower to hold back a snarky response. “Oh… of course… I’ll try to do better.” _Mr. I got lost on the path of life._

Kakashi walked past several doors, stopping at the one marked _514_. “And here is where you’ll find your mission.” He said with a flourish. “You’ll be cleaning out this room for a new tenant.”

“Well that doesn’t sound too-” he interrupted me mid sentence to open the door, revealing the inside. Towers of newspapers, ants crawling all over, cardboard, moldy food, plastic bags, dirty clothes, peeling wallpaper. “Oh gods, this place is worse than Naruto’s!”

“Yes, well that was the idea.”

 _Wait, what?_ “Y-you mean… you were watching us when we were on suspension?”

“Well as your sensei, it only makes sense that I would take a vested interest in my students personal lives.”

“How did you even set this up?” I couldn’t drag my eyes away from the mess before me, the more I looked, the worse it seemed.

“Well, that was just pure luck.” _In what world is this lucky?_ “The former occupant hadn’t paid their rent for this month, so the building super came to check in on them. He found them dead underneath a pile of their own garbage. But don’t worry, the body’s already been removed, so you just have to take care of all this. But don’t worry, the village has rented a dumpster for you to use, so that should help out a lot.”

Kakashi patted me on the shoulder and wished me good luck. “Oh and before I forget, you only have ten days to finish.”

 

Mask, check. Bleach, check. Garbage bags, check. Long sleeve black shirt _that I don’t care about and will probably burn by the time this is over_ , check. Black pants _that I also don’t care about and will burn_ , check. Hair pulled back into a tight bun, check. Bug spray, check. Gloves, check. Naruto’s old goggles that he doesn’t wear anymore, _and also doesn’t know that I took_ , check… _I’ll just make it up to him later_. Flashlight, check. First aid kit, check. Sponge, check. Bucket, check.

 

I passed through the doorway, feeling the change in air as I passed through the sealing array in the doorway. I could smell hot, rancid garbage even through my mask. _Well it could be worse, at least without my chakra or yoki my senses are dulled somewhat._

 

**Sasuke pov**

_Focus. Breath in… and out. Pool the chakra into your hand… increase the vibrations… move it faster…_ Blue lightning flashed in my hands for a few seconds before I couldn’t hold it any longer, dissipating as I let my arm fall to the side.

Kakashi was watching me intently, no orange book in sight. “You need to control it better."

"You need to relax, if you choke up too much, there won’t be any power behind it."

"Let the chakra flow more naturally."

"Keep it low to the ground.”

_It’s nice that he’s actually paying attention to me for once._

 

**Naruto pov**

“Is that really the best you got?”

“He’s got a leg, a leg, right there, look at it!” I shouted, pointing at the freshly summoned tadpole.

“Great, at this rate you might be able to summon something useful by the time your little friends make jonin.” Pervy sage rolled his eyes and took another swig from his gourd.

 

**Kagame pov**

_My arms hurt, my legs hurt, the smell won’t wash out. I fucking hate this shit. Why am I still alive?_

 

**Konan pov**

“The number of guards has increased even more, along with a heavier presence of Anbu level shinobi patrolling the village, we won’t be able to stay here much longer without risking being discovered.”

“I am aware.”

“So what do you want to do?”

Pein sighed, a weary look settling on his face. “We have not yet amassed the proper funds, nor the information necessary to begin hunting the jinchuriki in earnest. And Orochimaru may still yet prove useful.” He closed his eyes in concentration and was silent for several heartbeats. “It is quite likely that Orochimaru’s plans will heavily debilitate both Suna and Konoha for some time to come, leaving their jinchuriki's safety compromised... We will leave, for now.”

 

**Kagame pov**

It was the ninth day when I had finished. It was weird reporting at the mission desk without my team, it felt like there was entirely too much attention on me, even without old man third’s piercing gaze. _Though it’s nice to know he’s actually preparing for the final exam rather than blowing off his work for once. Besides… it already feels too much like my first time in the village as is. Small, powerless, and smelling absolutely wretched._

The desk chunin cleared his throat once I finished my report. “The refurbishing crew will be dispatched shortly then. I hope you’ve learned your lesson about following orders, insubordination is a serious offense, it’s best to stamp out any seeds of rebelliousness before they can take root. I don’t want to see you here for another E rank again, do you understand.” It was a statement, not a question.

Regardless, I answered with a remorseful “Yes, sir.”

“That’s good to hear. On your official transcript, this mission will be put down for three completed D ranks. Until your team reconvenes you will be free to do as you please, whether it be taking a break or taking solo D ranks, if that is your desire. But please, take a shower.” His eyebrow twitching as he scowled.

“Yes, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

 

I let out a sigh, shoulders sagging as soon as I was outside of Hokage tower. It was only a little past noon, but after the last few weeks… I’d say I deserved a chance to rest. _It’s not like I have anything to do anyway._

 

I absentmindedly rubbed at Naruto’s goggle lenses as I sat on my barren bed, waiting for the sheets to finish washing, _again_ . I had just finished my third shower that day, finally escaping the rancid smell of that house. I lifted my wrist to my nose and inhaled deeply, _pomegranate and grapefruit._ I opened my eyes after hearing someone else breath in too.

“Not your usual scent, but still nice.”

I squealed, dropping Naruto’s goggles into my lap as I clutched my bathrobe further closed. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock!” I hissed.

“Yes, but I find it’s highly overrated. Who knows what things someone could hide while you’re waiting at the door.” _I guess that makes sense from a shinobi standpoint._

“Um… Thanks for the lesson I guess, but why are you here?”

“Oh, well I was just in the neighborhood, helping an elderly woman water her plants and decided to drop by.” _While I’d like to refute that bullshit story, I don’t actually know any of my neighbors, and it would be just like Kakashi to actually find an old lady with plants just to prove me wrong._

“Okay then.” I shifted nervously as he continued to smile, his eye crinkling. He didn’t seem to notice my discomfort though, and I really didn’t want to say anything about it either, _because he totally would just embarrass me further._

“How about we go over your fight in the preliminaries. There’s a lot I’d like to talk about.” Despite his still jovial tone and expression, I knew it was not a request.

I sighed before placing the goggles on my bedside table and pulling out my notebook and a pen from the bottom drawer. “Lets get started then.”

“Well first off, that technique you named after me-”

“It’s ka- _ku_ -shi.”

“Whatever. It sucks.” _Ouch._ “It takes too much time to execute effectively, especially in a one on one match. It’s too flashy for a genjutsu as well. And, personally, I didn’t see any sort of benefit you could have from using it.”

“It’s… still a work in progress.”

“You’d be better off dropping it. Right now you’re too inexperienced in battle to make an effective jutsu. Focus on a skill you’ve already learned and try to improve upon it. Find new ways to use them. Because there’s a big difference between just learning a jutsu and mastering it. Up until now you’ve shown great battle instincts, but you can’t just rely on the same two tricks to get you through a tough situation, nor can you use an untested jutsu, you saw that first hand when Yoroi pinned you.” I hurriedly scribbled down the new rule as it left his mouth. _It’s true, it was hermit purple that got me out of Yoroi’s hold in the first place, and I didn’t use the clones I made effectively either, not like Sakura did in her fight with Ino._

“Second,” My eyes darted back up, looking at Kakashi expectantly. “You need to continue working on your chakra control, it’s true that your control is far above that of a normal genin, but it can always be better, you need to be able to perform your jutsus faster. You took far more hits than you should have allowed before you managed to fight back.

“Three, just because you have a knack for genjutsu, doesn’t mean you have to commit solely to that skill set. It’s important to be able to use taijutsu effectively, when all else fails, you can still use your fists.

“And four,” His features softened as he looked at me. “If you’re having problems, your team is always going to be there for you. You can tell any one of us if you have a problem. Your team is your family, you need to be open with us.” I stared down at my hurriedly scrawled notes, swallowing around the lump that had formed in my throat. I fisted my hands in my bathrobe, a wet drop landing on blue ink. Kakashi’s hand landed on my head, ruffling my still damp hair.

“I-” My voice came out small and broken. “I was wrong. I wa-wasn’t ready.” I pursed my lips, trying to hold back a sob that wracked my body. More droplets landed on paper, threatening to smear the fresh ink.

“Admitting defeat is something difficult for every shinobi, learning your limits is the first step to improving. Most rookies don’t even enter the chunin exams in their first year, let alone pass, but you made it all the way to the preliminaries, that’s something to be proud of.” I nodded my head, not trusting my voice in that moment.

 

**Naruto pov**

_“I have an important meeting with an old acquaintance, so take the day off and enjoy yourself. You need to remember to take rest days every now and then or you’ll run yourself ragged.”_

 

_I know that what pervy sage said is true, but it’s just so hard with only two weeks left to train. Not to mention that it’s so boring right now with everyone else busy training for the exams too!_

I had been wandering through the civilian market for a few hours before taking a side alley into the shinobi weapons market. _Maybe I should get a cool weapon for my fight against Neji, I’d bet that smug bastard won’t be expecting a sword or maybe some sick ass brass knuckles._

“So how sturdy are we talking here?” _Hey, I know that voice._ I turned around to see Kagame talking to one of the stall owners. It was weird seeing him without a yukata on. Even though he’s only been wearing it since we became a team, it seemed like an important part of him that’s supposed to be there.

“Chakra infused fiber reinforcements.” The older man replied.

“Well that does sound pretty fancy.” I quickly hid behind a potted fern placed outside one of the shops, peeking out from it’s huge leaves.

“Oh yeah, once it’s finished this baby’ll be resistant to any sort of slashing and tearing, and it’ll still be flexible, won’t inhibit any of those fancy maneuvers and flips you ninja love so much.” The man had a deep tan and metal grey hair, scars littered his body and face.

“And I’ve seen a bunch of shinobi running around with these detachable sleeves.”

“Oh yes, very popular right now, especially with the young women.”

“It seems like it’s a good idea, would you be able to work that into mine?”

“Yes, it’s not a problem. Something like that is easy to take care of.” _What the heck are they talking about?_

“But can you do it without any of that zipper shit?”

The man scoffed, “Of course, it’s not necessary.” The man pulled out a pen and a sketchpad and started furiously scribbling. After five minutes he finished and turned it around. Kagame bent down to look at it as the man pointed and said, “I’ll have my wife put a seal here and here at the shoulders, you just have to activate the seal and the chakra fibers will attach or detach from the sleeves, easy. It will be a bit more expensive, but it’s much higher quality than a  _zipper_.” The man snorted with derision at the word.

“So how much will it cost me, and when can I expect it to be finished?”

The man pulled out an abacus and flipped through several beads, muttering, “Elaborate print, chakra fiber, detachable sleeves with seal mechanism, custom obi” before announcing, “13,600 ryo.” _What the hell is he spending so much money on?!_ “It’ll be done by end of September.”

“Thank you again, Kagari-san.” Kagame handed over the money and bowed deeply as he left. It physically hurt just to look at that money as it passed from Kagame’s hands to the shopkeeper. _I can’t believe he lectured me about spending money on takeout when he just spent way more on… what the hell did he even buy?!_

“Excuse me, is there something I can help you with?” I nearly jumped out of my skin as Kaka-sensei peeked over my shoulder.

“What the hell are you doing here, sensei?” I hissed, trying to keep my voice down.

“Well I’m not stalking my teammate.” He said with an accusing tone.

“I’m not stalking him, I just saw him and I got curious.” I explained. “Do you know what he was talking about with the old man over there?”

“I believe he was buying a custom made yukata.”

“It’s that expensive for one of those things!” I slapped my hand over my mouth, looking around nervously as several eyes glanced my direction, none of which were silver.

“Well it is custom made, and specifically for active duty as a shinobi.”

I lowered my voice back down, “Does he always spend that much money on them?”

“You ask that like I’m his mom, which I am definitely not.” He sighed.

“Come on, sensei, you know what I mean.” I grumbled.

“Ah, well no, I’d say he doesn’t. The material his current one is made out of is much cheaper than what Kagari-san normally sells, and there certainly isn’t any chakra fiber weaved into it either. I would know, I was the one who had the seven stitched on.”

“So, do you know this Kagari guy?”

“Well of course, I’ve commissioned him quite a few times in fact.”

“Really?” I said in disbelief. “Cuz, I’ve only seen you in your jonin uniform.”

“Hm. Oh, well not for myself of course. I hire him for my dogs.”

“Your… dogs?”

“Yes, I take both their safety and fashion _very_ seriously.” _You really are a weirdo sensei._

 

After ditching sensei at the market I ran after Kagame, yelling for him when I saw his back. He turned around, surprise written on his face.

“Naruto? What are you doing out here?”

“Ugh, well ya see, my trainer gave me the day off, so I kinda don’t have anything to do.” I stopped when I saw a pair of goggles hanging around his neck. I pointed at them and asked, “What are those?”

He looked down, cheeks blushing a bright red. “Um… well… I soooorrrt ooof… _broke into your house and took them without asking.”_

“You didn’t take anything else did ya?” I asked flatly.

He put out his hands and waved them defensively. “No, no, I just had this mission, and I kinda needed them, cuz, like… there was this dead lady and I had to clean out her house, and it was _waaaaay_ worse than your place could ever have been in a thousand years.”

“It was that bad?”

“I never want to piss off Kakashi again.” He breathed. “Anyway… why don’t we head on over to Ichiraku, my treat.”

“Really?” Excitement bubbled up just from thinking about that delicious miso chashu pork ramen.

“Yeah, I’ll buy you a bowl of your favorite… or five knowing your appetite.”

 

“... And then, he slams his hand so hard into my stomach, that I actually skid backwards!”

Kagame laughed as he held his chopsticks out in front of him. I was a little surprised that he was actually having a bowl himself, even if he did just order a half portion. “Sounds like he’s been giving you a tough time.”

“Yeah, but I guess it did help me channel my chakra a little better. But I don’t get why he tricked me into getting beat up by Sakura and then left me to pay the tab here at Ichiraku.”

“I bet he’s just a sadist like Kakashi.” He muttered. “Anyway, I should probably give these back to you now.” He lifted the goggles up over his head before sticking them out for me to grab.

“I don’t really need those anymore.” I said as I thumbed my headband. “So you can keep em if you want, just don’t go taking things from my house without asking next time.”

His face lit up red again as he mumbled an apology. He put them on over his head and breathed in deep before asking, “So how do I look?” He flashed a smile and a thumbs up. “Do I look hip and youthful?” He said, trying to imitate Guy sensei.

“You look like you’re part of the Konohamaru gang.” I snickered.

His face fell immediately as he took off the goggles. “I don’t want them anymore.”

I burst out into full laughter, holding my sides and desperately trying to suck in air. “You should see your face!”

“You know Naruto, it’s not very gentleman like to laugh at your date, especially when they’re the one paying for your meal.” Ayame teased.

My laughter immediately turned to a choking wheeze as Kagame slammed his hands on the counter. If I thought he was blushing before, then this was on a whole other level. He was so red, it looked like he was about to pass out. “This is so not a date, why would you even say that!”

“Well you two are here alone, and like I said, you are paying for Naruto. You’ve seen how much he eats here and you’re still buying for him anyway.” Ayame smirked. “Plus, Naruto was running all over the market district for you when you weren’t feeling well.”

“I was just worried about my teammate, that’s all!” I shouted, finally finding my voice.

“Right, of course, what was I thinking.” Ayame giggled.

“Knock it off, can’t you spare the poor boys a break?” Teuchi chided. “ _Though it is all rather cute._ ” He added under his breath.

Kagame coughed awkwardly, tucking his hair behind his ear. “... Thank you for the food.” He murmured, placing money on the counter.

“Oh, hey! Before you leave,” I grabbed his wrist and pulled out his headband from my back pocket. “I got it a little wet when I fell in the river last week, but other than that I’ve been keeping it safe for ya. So, here, take it.”

Kagame tentatively raised his hand and reached out, gently picking it up and tying it around his neck. “Thank you, Naruto.” He quickly dipped down into a bow. “I know you don’t like me doing this, but… this is really important to me and… I can’t imagine having to get a new one. So thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you.”

“Yeah, don’t mention it.” Something in my chest squeezed at the thought of having to ask for a replacement for my own headband. _I would never be able to ask for another, not when Iruka sensei gave it to me. It’s my pride as a ninja._

The moment felt kinda ruined though when Ayame cooed, “ _C_ _uuuuute_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, it is currently mid july when the chunin exams take place. So Kagame's new yukata won't make a debut for awhile.


	32. Three Demons and a Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, but here it is! The end of the chunin exam interim period. Featuring a very sandy boi! Feel free to comment below!

_Crawling, cold, hot, burning, freezing. Wrapping around my arms and legs, tightening. Hard and unmoving, like stone. Then soft and dribbling sludge, and back to stone again, compressing, crushing. Stale air, thick with smoke. Embers of blue, purple, pink, red. I can’t breathe. I can’t move. And then there is nothing as embers fade to black. I’m being swallowed up. Consumed in my entirety. Darkness. Absolute. Devoured by the unending abyss. But I can feel them. Brushing against me. Hands, grasping and pulling and ripping. Desperate._

 

I woke up sweating, bolting out of bed, stumbling to my feet as hands hurried to rip the sheets from my panicked form, breathe shallow and quick. Crashing through the bathroom door and nearly falling, just barely catching myself, scrambling on hand and knees to the toilet. Bile, hot and thick, burning my throat as an icy cold stream flowed violently through my veins. A sound like rushing water echoing in my head. I gasped for air, once, twice, and then vomited again. It was dark, black even. Its smell burning the hairs in my nose as my senses sharpened. I could smell the harsh chemical odor of my cleaning supplies, the sweet aroma of grapefruit and pomegranate soap, and my own sweat. The taste in my mouth was metal and smoke and rot, and I couldn’t help but to heave even more. There were tears stinging my eyes and my bones hurt and my skin was too tight and my body shuddered and heaved again. It wasn't bile that came out this time, but a sob; ugly and loud and broken. But it’s too late now, it’s out there and I can’t stop. I’m crying as I curl up into a ball, hands seeking desperately to keep from falling apart, gripping firmly against too hot skin. The floor cold and soothing as the room around me spun wildly, darkness lining the edges of my vision as spots danced through the room. A heavy force pressing down on me, overwhelming bloodlust, as everything faded to black.

 

 _My head hurts._ I opened my eyes to a blurry, white tiled floor. My skin peeling off as I moved into an upright position. _Scratch that, everything hurts._ I stared straight ahead for several minutes as my eyes refocused. _How long have I been here?_ I got to my feet, legs wobbling as I propped myself up on the bathroom wall, joints popping loudly. My hair flopped into my face, obscuring my vision with thick strands of brown. I raised a shaky hand to my face, pulling the hair back as I stared down at myself. My black tank top soaked through with what I hope is only sweat.

It’s then I noticed the thrumming through my veins. My eyes widening minutely. _I can feel my chakra_. I focused on the feeling as more rushed through my body, circulating faster and faster, making me feel more alive than I have in the past two weeks. My limbs stopped shaking as I stood up straight and quickly disrobed, skin cracking and ripping as I bent. _Gross, not only do I fucking reek, but now I’m shedding again?! I need a shower._

 

After a very thorough scrubbing, and lots of peeling, I was confident enough to exit the bathroom. Newly pink skin soft to the touch and smelling like fresh fruit, numerous scars having faded into nothingness as newer, redder stretch marks marked up my shoulders, hips, and thighs. I was standing a few inches taller as I opened the blinds to my window, gazing out at the Konoha cityscape as the sun sat near the top of the wall. A whole day ahead of me, chakra buzzing under my skin in delight. “Today is gonna be a great day.”

 

**Anko pov**

" _Well today’s just gonna be a great fuckin’ day, ain’t it._ " I murmured. I was with several shinobi from the sensory corp, gathered around two recently discovered corpses lying on examination tables in the T&I morgue. They had been recovered around midnight near the site of a strange chakra signature that had appeared out of nowhere and vanished just as quickly. Despite both persons dying within minutes of one another, the two were in wildly different states upon discovery.

One was an easily identifiable Hayate Gekko. The cause of death was a deep gash running across his body from shoulder to hip. Murder weapon is currently thought to be a sword, _though any bladed weapon could have been the cause if it was in the right hands._

The other had not yet been identified. _Whoever the poor schmuck was, they had suffered a much more painful death._ They had no distinguishing features remaining, they were just a twisted pile of bone and flesh. The strangest thing about the body was the large amounts of sand that it was found buried under. _At least it makes identifying the murderer easy, it could only be that fucking sand brat with the red hair, but it’s not like we can just arrest one of the Kazekage’s children. Especially with no witness to the crime._

Ibiki burst through the doors, holding a manila folder in his hands. He slammed it down on the table, revealing a photo of the victim attached to the front with a paperclip. “Our victim is one Yoroi Akado, one of the finalists for the chunin exams.”

“Well that explains the M.O. The little sand girl decided he would be a pain in the ass to fight in the later rounds, so she got her psycho little brother to take care of him.” _Case closed… if anyone could prove it anyway._

“And what of Hayate then?” _Geez Ibiki, gonna make me do all the work?_

“Wrong place, wrong time.” I shrugged.

“I was looking more along the lines of _who_ killed him.” Ibiki pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke.

“The hell if I know.” I sighed.

 

**Kagame pov**

_The whole day ahead of you is pretty boring when you have nothing to do._ I was lying on the floor, sprawled out between my notebook, a sketchbook, and several pens and pencils. I was staring up at the ceiling, eyes tracing the black brushstrokes of the painted on moon. _The guy at the mission desk said I could take solo D ranks, but… I’m not really sure about that. It’d be weird without anyone to talk to, but… I am the only one who ever does anything on those missions anyway. Well actually, that’s not totally true. Sasuke helps sometimes… when he and Naruto aren’t  too busy fighting or getting in trouble with the clients… Maybe it would be nice to actually finish a mission without any complaints._

I sat up and sighed loudly, “I don’t wanna see that asshole at the mission desk though.”

_After everything that’s happened, what I really need is a break. Maybe a good book to read?_

I slapped my cheeks, “Shinobi, shinobi, shinobi!” _It’s been two weeks already, I need to get back to training! I can’t afford to just sit around here like this!_

I rushed to my feet and scooped up my things, placing them in my bedside drawer. _I can do this, I can do this._ I opened my closet and made to grab my team 7 yukata, _I haven’t even touched it once in the past two weeks._ My hand hesitated for several moments before I finally grabbed it and put it on. I hastily tied my obi and attached my weapons pouch before rushing out the door. _What am I even afraid of? It’s not like I’m suddenly gonna forget everything._ I stopped in front of the stairs leading to the ground floor. _But I might forget to put on my fucking shoes._

 

 _Okay. I have my shoes and everything else I need, now how the hell do I start?_ I was standing on the bridge near training ground 3, my feet having automatically taken me here. _Well, if Kakashi says I’m not ready for new jutsu, then I’ll just focus on physical training, that’s easy enough._ I took in several deep breaths, trying to slow my racing heart. _Why the hell am I feeling like this?_

 

After four laps around the village my heart was still racing, but in the _‘I’m physically exhausted way’_ rather than the _‘I’m a nervous fucking wreck way’_. My nervous energy finally burned off as I was doubled over panting, sweat slick against my skin.

 

**Naruto pov**

_Damnit! Why do I keep listening to this freak!_ Not ten minutes ago I was training to try and unlock the nine tail’s chakra and I was stupid enough to listen to pervy sage about a ‘new idea for tapping into the fox’s power’. And now here I am, falling to my death!

 

**Kagame pov**

I choked as I was taking in a gulp of water. A huge burst of yoki, hot and oppressive, rippled through the air before collapsing in on itself.

 _Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!_ I raced towards where it came from while frantically trying to twist close the cap of my water bottle. _That aura… it’s gotta be the nine tails! But why the hell would Naruto be using it now? It’s not even time for the finals!_

I picked up speed as soothing chakra flowed into my burning legs. My head snapped upwards as a large shadow passed over the area. _Is that a giant frog?!_ I skidded to a halt, kicking up dirt as I scrambled to my feet and began running towards where the frog had landed with a heavy ‘thump’.

 

 _Damn can that frog move!_ I slowed to a stop as it hopped further and further into the distance. _Naruto… I hope you know what you’re doing._

 

The sun had almost set by the time I returned home, no one in the village seemed to know about the giant frog I saw, _or if they did they didn’t care._ I finished schlepping up the stairs to my floor when I ran into an older looking shinobi. Their headband glinting in the orange light.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you there.” My cheeks flushed as I took in their appearance. _Handsome, a little on the short side, but maybe he isn’t as old as his sharpened features would suggest. He isn’t wearing a vest, so he must be a genin still. I don’t think I remember seeing him from the exams either._

“Excuse me miss, but are you Kagome Ryo?” He asked.

My face fell immediately. “It’s Kagame Ryo.” _And I’m actually a guy._

“Oh, sorry again, I’m here to deliver a message to you. You’re teammate ‘Naruko Uzunaki’” he read the name slowly from a scroll he was carrying, “was recently admitted to the hospital. You were listed as one of their emergency contacts.” _Really, me? Then again, I guess he probably figured Kakashi couldn’t be trusted to show up if something was wrong, and Sasuke is a definite no for him. Hmmm. Wait a minute… who the hell did I have listed as my emergency contact? Did I ever put anyone down? I should probably have that checked._

_Wait no, focus. He said, ‘one of’? Maybe the others were informed then._

“So who are the other contacts?”

“Ughhhhh.” He scanned over the scroll he was carrying before answering, “Just one, Iruka Unomi.” _Okay this guy is dumb. Not even Naruto with his chicken scratch handwriting would mess up this bad. But... that also means not Sasuke and Kakashi, just like I had thought. Though maybe they'll be informed later, since we are a team and all._

“Right, well thanks for telling me, I’ll be heading over there now.”

He quickly followed after me, linking his elbow in mine. “Allow me to escort you, I’d hate for anything bad to happen to a fair young maiden this late at night.”

 _Young maiden? Who the hell says that kind of shit?_ I tried to slip out of his hold, but he held on firmly, insisting that he come along even though I assured him I would be fine.

 

“It’s actually the other way.”

“What?” He asked.

“The hospital, it’s that way.” I said, pointing to the right.

“O-oh yeah, sorry.” He laughed. _No wonder this guy’s still a genin. He’s an absolute moron._

 

Once I was inside the hospital I managed to give that guy the slip, the nurse sending him out with another message for someone. She gave me a wink as he passed through the sliding doors of the entrance. I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmingly grateful for her intervention. He kept stealing nervous glances in my direction on the way over, trying to hide his smile whenever I pretended not to notice. _I’m sure he was about five minutes away from asking me out on a date._

I entered Naruto’s room to find him dead asleep, Iruka looked up at me as I closed the door.

“So you came to see _Uzunaki_ too, huh, _Unomi-san_?” I joked. Iruka’s face twisted in confusion. “Ugh, it was- the guy I was with- he couldn’t read.” I explained.

His face morphed into one of realization. “So you got the news from Makoto-san then.”

“You know him?”

“He was a former student of mine, and I’ve gotten a few messages from him before. It’s pretty much the only job the genin corp trusts him with.” Iruka shifted in his seat.

“Oh, you don’t have to get up for me.” I insisted.

“No, it’s fine. I was about to leave anyway. He’s fine by the way- Naruto, that is. Just a case of chakra exhaustion.” _I didn’t even know Naruto could get chakra exhaustion, he always seemed pretty limitless to me._

I bowed my head. “Thank you for looking out for him.”

“Naruto’s one of my precious students, it’s only natural for me to care for his well being.”

 

I woke sitting in the chair by Naruto’s hospital bed. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and cracked my back. The scent of stale sweat wafting into my nose. _That’s right, I never got the chance to change before I ran into Moku-Maki-Ma… whatever his fucking name was._ I sighed, looking at the clock sitting on Naruto’s bedside. _4:30 am_. _I should probably head home and shower. And… maybe I will need to find a good book._

 

And so I spent the next two weeks training from early morning till noon, then I’d head home to shower and change before checking in on Naruto at the hospital. I never did see anyone else visit him save for Iruka. He would show up after his classes ended at the academy, a large heap of papers in tow. Aside from a pleasant greeting, there wasn’t much else said between the two of us. I didn’t know the man like Naruto apparently did, _and I’m guessing my cold exterior from when I was his student didn’t help with that_. But I didn’t mind the lack of conversation. I had picked up a book from the library and was content to read while Iruka’s red pen scratched away at those poor children’s homework. _That was always one thing I liked about him though, unlike Mizuki, Iruka actually valued theory along with the practical._

**_It’s why you placed so well in the academy after all._ **

So with it just being myself and Iruka most days, I found it to be quite surprising when Shikamaru Nara of all people popped his head through the door, shogi board and fruit basket in tow.

“Hey.” he mumbled, strolling into the room.

“Hey yourself.” It was… a bit shocking. _I mean, I haven’t really even talked to him since we were like, eight._

He set the fruit basket next to the hospital bed and then proceeded to pull over a chair and a table- which had been placed in front of the window by Iruka’s request. The scent of winterberry and cigarettes hit my nose as he passed by. _That’s right, his sensei smokes._ He set up the shogi board and sat down. A pensive look settled across his face, eyebrows drawn together as his fingertips pressed together. He spent several moments like that until he took one of the tiles and placed it in another spot with a ‘click’. He peered up at me and declared, “It’s your turn.”

I worried my bottom lip before announcing, “I’m sorry, but I’ve never played, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

“Troublesome.” He sighed before his hand darted out to the opposite side of the board and moved one of the tiles.

I tried to return my attention to my book, but every few minutes I would be distracted by another ‘click’. I found myself stuck rereading the same page several times, unable to process the words no matter how many times my eyes ran over them. The distinct click of the wooden tiles on the board coupled with the familiar and yet different scent quickly took up all my attention. I gave up any pretense of trying to ignore his presence and placed the book in my weapons pouch, _right next to the academy handbook that was very much not my own_. _The same handbook that smelled like all old books do, but with a hint of winterberry._

**_And what would he think if he knew you were the one who had taken it?_ **

_Shut up…_

Another ‘click’ and I was brought back to the scene before me, Shikamaru playing himself in shogi.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He paused for a second and then placed down another tile. He looked up at me, “Playing shogi. What does it look like?”

“What are you doing, _here_?” I emphasized, waving my hand around the room.

Another ‘click’. “I’m taking a break. Playing some shogi. Not much else.” He stated, matter-of-factly.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” I was beginning to get frustrated. “You and Naruto may have gotten into some shenanigans back at the academy, but you weren’t exactly friends. So why are you here in his hospital room?”

He lifted his head to look at me, his gaze piercing. He lifted his hand and reached forward. My eyes widened by just a fraction, but I’m sure he noticed it anyway, _he was always good at picking up on things that others didn’t notice._ I found myself frozen in place, pinned by his sharp eyes. He carefully brushed my hair to the side, tucking it behind my ear.

“I thought I told you, you look better with your bangs pinned to the side.” He murmured, looking back down at his game.

I swallowed around the lump forming in my throat.

 

_Another hit to my head and I heard something break, a glint of plastic falling to the ground, clinking on the floor._

 

“My only clip broke during my match. I… haven’t replaced it yet.” _I don’t want to replace it._ Though I didn’t say it, I’m sure Shikamaru could hear my thoughts as loud as day.

**_Because you want to hold onto some silly, childish nonsense. Unwilling to let go and accept that he’s gone. Even if he’s right here in front of you, he is beyond your reach._ **

“Well you should do something about it,” ‘Click.’ “Otherwise you’ll be a liability in the field.” I stifled a scoff at his accusation. _Do you really think so little of me? I know I wasn’t ever the strongest in class or anything, but…_

“I’ll keep that in mind.” ‘Click’

 **_Love is the secret of humans. But in return for it, one is made soft and weak. Show him how strong we can be. Kill the weakness in your heart._ ** ‘Click.’

I looked at his face, studying him. He looked almost the same as I remembered him in the academy. But he was also different. And those differences were more apparent the longer I looked at him. They were painfully clear. His eyes were so much more awake than they had been before, more aware. Despite his lazy demeanor, there was a readiness that previously didn’t exist. He was different, he had changed. _And I hadn’t. I was the same. I hadn’t changed at all._

**_You can’t change. But, we can._ **

_I want to change, I want to be something more than just this._

**_Look at the fruit basket._ **

I did as the voice had asked, tearing my eyes away from Shikamaru’s thoughtful face. ‘Click.’ There was a card attached, ‘To Choji.’

 **_If you want to change, you must kill your weakness._ ** It felt as though she were standing behind me, I could practically feel her cold breath against my ear. **_Kill him. How often do you think the chance will present itself? He’s right here._ ** I could feel something churning in my stomach. **_They won’t suspect a thing. They don’t even know he’s here. He’s supposed to be with Choji. Not here, with you._ **

_But he is here, with me._

**_Is it satisfying? Is it anything like it was before? Is he suffering the way he made you suffer? Does he know, or even care about what you’ve had to endure?_ **

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I could almost feel her twisted smile as a cold hand was placed over my throat.

**_No matter what you say or do, things will never return to what they were before. You must change, or you’ll be left behind… and die._ **

I could feel my heart thundering in my chest, threatening to burst out of my rib cage. _I can do it. I can change. I can be more than this._

Next to me, Naruto shifted, mumbling softly as he rose to a sitting position. Whatever had been writhing around in my gut had come to a complete stop, shrinking and sliding down into a single point. I grasped Naruto’s hand tightly within my own and gasped.

“You’re awake.” I laughed, _though it was a bit on the hysterical side._ Chakra that was warm, in the way that only sunlight could be, glided over my skin, chasing away a fog in my head I hadn’t fully realized was there.

“Kagame?” Naruto yawned.

“You were asleep so long that I thought you were gonna miss the final exam.”

His eyes bulged as he yelped, “How long have I been asleep!?”

“Two weeks.” Shikamaru answered, _he hasn’t even looked up this whole time._ ‘Click.’

“Two weeks?!”

“The exams are tomorrow.” ‘Click.’

“I missed… two whole weeks of training…” Naruto paled.

 

After several minutes of freaking out, Shikamaru finally got Naruto to calm down. _Or at least stop yelling._

I turned my attention back to Shikamaru. “So why are you here with a fruit basket that says, ‘for Choji’?”

“He’s here for a nasty case of indigestion. My mom asked me to drop this off for him, but the nurse said he can’t eat anything yet. So here I am.”

Naruto smiled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You wanna go eat it in front of him?”

Shikamaru paused mid-move and smirked.

 

I had declined the invitation to taunt Choji and decided to head home. _I haven’t spent too much time there aside from sleep lately anyway, and I definitely need to do laundry._ I was about to head down the hospital stairs when I sensed it, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as a wave of bloodlust washed over me. I spun around and bolted down the hall, zeroing in on the room it was emanating from.

I slammed open the door to see Gaara standing over an unconscious Lee. Sand was pooling out of his gourd, shaping into tendrils poised to strike. Without thinking I ran forward, I was stopped in my tracks as the sand fell to the ground. _This feeling, it’s-_

“ **Shadow Possession.”** Relief flooded through me. _If I could move, my shoulders would drop from the sudden lack of tension._

“You bastard!” Naruto roared, slamming his fist into Gaara’s face.

“Hey, watch it! You could have broken my jutsu pulling a stunt like that!” Shikamaru scolded.

“Sorry,” Naruto returned to Shikamaru’s side as the shadow bent around me, freeing me from my paralysis. “Out with it, what were you trying to pull.”

“I was going to kill him.” Gaara’s voice was just as rough and grainy as the sand he wielded.

“Isn’t it enough that you beat him in the competition, that you possibly crippled him for life!” Shikamaru shouted. _I’ve never heard that kind of vitriol in his voice before._

“I don’t have anything against him or anything, I just want to kill him.” Gaara didn’t show even a shred of emotion as he said it.

 **“He’s a monster, they don’t need any sort of logic or reason. Killing is all that they live for.”** The words flowed out of my mouth with ease, I wasn’t sure if they were my own though.

He smirked, _which is incredibly surprising as I didn’t think his face would actually allow it or any sort of expression_. “That’s exactly right, and if you get in my way, I’ll kill you too.”

“Oh yeah! I’d like to see you try!” Naruto yelled.

“Back off will you, we don’t wanna fight this guy. He acts like a demon.” Shikamaru hissed.

“He can act like a demon all he wants, I’m not afraid of him, cuz I got the real thing inside of me.” Naruto declared. _Oh gods Naruto, you can’t just go around saying shit like that!_

“A demon huh.” Gaara closed his eyes as he spoke. _A bold move, even with the paralysis he still doesn’t see us as any kind of threat._ “My demon is just as real as yours.” _WHAT?!_

**_Of course he is, why else do you think we can sense him so easily._ **

 

_I hadn’t been expecting him to have a demon inside of him like Naruto. And I definitely didn’t expect him to name it and give his whole life story. Then to be saved by Gai of all people._

I heaved a sigh as I set the washer to heavy, “Today has been too long.”

**_It’s a shame we won’t be in the finals, I’d love to exterminate that sand brat._ **


	33. You're My Friend, I Guess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did someone say Ino & Kagame friendship? No? Just me? Well I hope you like it! Comment below!

I woke just before the sun began its ascent in the sky. I went through my morning stretches and grabbed a vitamin water and orange. After a few laps around the village I returned to my home to see Ino Yamanaka, clad in a bright orange shirt and purple shorts, standing in front of my door impatiently. “What are you doing here?” _Am I just going to keep running into their team over and over again for the rest of my life?_

“Waiting for you, duh!” She snapped. “Where have you been! And why are you all gross and sweaty!”

I narrowed my eyes as I answered, “It’s called training, just because I’m not competing in the finals doesn’t mean I’m just going to lounge around all day.” I finished my explanation by taking a bite out of my unpeeled orange as if it were an apple, smirking in satisfaction as Ino’s mouth opened in shock and disgust.

“You realize that the finals are today, right?”

“Yeah, in like four hours.”

“Exactly! No go shower so we can get you ready!”

My brain stalled out at that. “ _What?_ ”

 

After toweling off and donning my yukata over a shirt and shorts, I entered my living room to see Ino was still inside of my fucking house.

“What’s up with this picture, did you draw this?” She asked, holding up a framed drawing of my eight year old self.

“Uh, yeah, no. Someone else drew that for me.”

She placed it back on the shelf she found it on. “Who?”

“Just… this guy that I know, kind of.”

“Do you like him?” She blurted out.

“Wha-”

“Wait, no, nevermind, we gotta go.” She said, grabbing hold of my arm and pulling me out the door without even giving me time to put on my shoes. “You can tell me all about him later.” She finished with a wink. _At least I put on my weapons pouch before I came out._

 

The Yamanaka compound was much bigger than the Nara’s. _Though I suppose it’s much easier to build outward when you aren’t surrounded by forest on all sides._ And its occupants far livelier, a number of blond heads weaved around us on the cobblestone path as Ino all but dragged me into her home.

“Dad we’re going up to my room to get ready!” Ino shrieked.

“Don’t take too long.” A voice replied.

“I won’t!” Ino groaned before whispering, “ _That’s why I planned out your whole outfit last night_.”

She led me to one of the rooms upstairs and quickly threw a pile of clothes into my face. “Put these on and then we’ll move onto hair and makeup.”

I was about to say something when Shikamaru’s words echoed through my head. _It’s easier to just give her what she wants most of the time, otherwise she’ll make your life a living hell til you give in._ I snapped my mouth shut and started to strip.

“Whoa, what the hell are you doing?!” Ino shrieked.

I raised my eyebrow questioningly. “Getting changed, like you asked.”

“You can’t just change in the middle of my bedroom, my dad would flip if I had a naked boy in here!” She pointed across the room, “Go change in the bathroom.”

I sighed as I locked the door behind me, mumbling, “ _It’s not like I was even gonna be full on butt ass naked or anything. I’m wearing fucking underwear_.”

The clothes she had given me were actually quite nice, soft, elastic fabric, good color palette _, and best of all it’s something I would probably pick out myself if I were into fashion… or actually a girl._ Black leggings with a gold chevron pattern, long sleeve undershirt with gold stripes around the wrist, and a deep blue shirt/dress, thing?- _I have no idea what to really call it, I’m super out of my depth here_ \- with gold trimming. _I mean, I guess it’s a dress, or like a shirt that’s for a giant?_

I stared into the mirror, tucking my hair behind my ear. _Pretty._

 

_It really suits you- it draws more attention to your eyes._

 

My lips thinned into a grim line. I took a deep breath in through my nose and held it for a long moment. 

 

**_No matter what you say or do, things will never return to what they were before._ **

 

_Things are different… But that’s ok._

Ino banged on the door, giving me a start as she shouted, “What the hell are you doing in there that’s taking so long?!”

I let out a long sigh that quickly turned into a loud groan. _If I were a Nara, I would have certainly called her a huge drag at least a few times by now._ I calmly opened the door, _fighting the urge to slam it open as quickly as possible_ , and stepped out for her to see.

She drew a scrutinizing gaze over my form and announced, “Not half bad.” She wheeled me over to her vanity and shoved me down into the chair before it. She grabbed a strand of my hair and rubbed it between two fingers. “Good, it’s still damp.” She gathered up the rest of my hair and split it into two sections and began weaving them together into a braid. She stopped periodically to douse it with a truly awful, _almost suffocating_ , chemical spray.

“So, why are you doing this?”

“It’s so your hair-.”

“-No, I mean why am I here, getting a makeover from you?”

Her deft hands froze, her reflection grimaced. She didn’t say or do anything for a long moment, her shoulders tensing. She opened her mouth and then shut it. “It’s not like I could ask anyone else,” she said finally, “You’re my only friend who would let me.” _Friend?_

I watched as my own features softened in the mirror before redirecting my attention to her own outfit. “What about yourself, I can’t remember the last time you dressed like… a regular kid.”

“When I was little… I used to help my mom get ready all the time. She would let me pick out what dress she would wear, her makeup… it was fun. And she always looked so pretty when we finished. I wanted to be just like her.” _Her mom?_ I thought back to when we had the sleepover, the last time I could really say I was friends with Shikamaru and Choji. _Everyone’s parents were there at dinner, except for Ino’s mom._ “I haven’t been able to catch that feeling. Whenever I do this for myself… it’s not really for _me_.”

Realization dawned on me as I recalled Sakura’s words from the preliminaries, “It’s because of some boy who’s never even spoken to you.”

Her eyes became hard as a smirk crossed her face, “I’m not like Shika and Choji, I am my own person and I won’t let anyone make me feel a certain way or do something I don’t want to, not anymore. So that just leaves you as the last one in the running for Sasuke.”

“What?! No! I-he’s just a friend!” Red dusted the tips of my ears as Ino finished tying off the braid.

“I saw him carrying you.” She stated, gathering my bangs.

“I wasn’t feeling well.” She clipped them in place, light blue plastic glinting against the vanity's light.

“He likes you!” She sang as she rifled through one of her dresser drawers.

“You’re not part of our team, you don’t know what he’s really like.” I bit out.

“Alright no need to be so angry!” She waved her hands, holding lipstick in one hand and eyeliner in the other.

I sighed, leaning back into the chair. “It’s not… It’s his dream… I don’t really fit into it.”

“His dream?” She tilted my head back as she carefully painted along the lash line.

I replied once she was finished, and not holding anything within poking distance of my eye. _To kill a certain man, and,_ “To restore his clan, that’s his dream.”

She hesitated a moment before applying the lipstick to my bottom lip. “Oh.”

I firmly puckered my lip, releasing with a soft ‘pop’. I frowned at my reflection. “I think blue might be a bit too bold, don'tcha think?”

Ino stared for a moment before relenting, “Yeah, it is a bit too much.” She took out a wet nap and smeared the blue goo off. “Maybe the eyeliner is enough.”

 

“I’m telling you, it totally breaks the flow of the outfit!” Ino barked.

“And I’m telling you, I’m not gonna reach around a foot of fabric just to reach my weapons pouch.” I was walking through the street with Ino and her father, as we argued over the obi I had tied around the dress Ino had given me.

“Why do you even need your weapons pouch, you aren’t fighting anyone!”

“Neither are you Princess, yet you still have your shuriken holster.” Inoichi pointed out.

She rounded on him, yelling, “I’m not dressed up though, I spent hours putting this look together and he just throws on an obi, breaking up the lines and curves that it’s supposed to make!”

I fiddled with my fishtail braid as she began lecturing her dad on how clothes accentuate certain features and create the illusion of curves where there are none. I began to tune her out as I listened to the sound of my borrowed sandals against the brick road. _Though if I’m being honest, I won’t be giving any part of this outfit back to Ino when the day is over. Even if sunshine yellow isn’t my first choice of color for footwear._

 

Ino and I met up with an unaccompanied Choji at the arena gates. Inoichi insisted on paying for all our tickets and leaving us a hefty wad for food before he left, claiming that work doesn’t stop for anything, not even the exams. Ino and I went to go claim our seats while Choji made a beeline for the concessions stand, eager to spend the cash wad immediately. _I couldn’t deny, I was feeling a little nervous. I hadn’t ever spent any time around Choji without Shikamaru there too, and after hearing how his dad felt about me, well… I’m totally justified, right?_

“So,” I began as we waited for Choji to come back, “Your dad seems pretty nice.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess he’s pretty cool. He’s definitely open minded for a clan head.”

“ _Open minded.”_ I snickered.

Ino looked at me incredulously, “Really? That’s what it takes to make you laugh? A stupid pun?”

I merely shrugged.

“Well, anyway,” She continued, “He says you should drop by for dinner sometime, it’d be just the three of us.” She tacked on.

“He… wants me over?” **A filthy silver eyed witch.**

“Yeah, he thinks it’d be good for me to have friends outside of my team, or whatever.”

I clasped my hands in my lap. “The last time didn’t work out too well for me.”

“Yeah, well I told you my dad is different, and even if he wasn’t I’m not gonna let anyone tell me what to do!”

“And if his allies find out?”

Ino paused for a moment, “It has nothing to do with them, so if they get mad then I’ll deal with it.”

We sat there in silence until it was broken by Choji shouting, “This place is great! They have real black angus beef hot dogs!” He scooched past the both of us and plopped down in his seat, arms filled with a various assortment of packaged foods. “Here’s the change.” He dropped a 100 ryo note and some odd change into Ino’s hand before she flew off the handle.

“Are you kidding me foodboy! There’s barely anything left, what the hell are we supposed to get with this!”

I stifled a laugh behind my hand as Ino reached over and started shaking him, sending popcorn flying. _I guess some things never change._

I was distracted from my thoughts when the proctor entered the arena and began the opening ceremony. I was surprised to see that it was someone else rather than Hayate Gekko. _But he very well could have keeled over with that fucking cough of his._ The new guy was… much more handsome, I felt a pang of jealousy towards Naruto for being so close to him. _I bet he looks even hotter up- wait…_ My eyes scanned the arena, wandering over the contestants standing side by side. _Where the hell is Sasuke?_ I unfolded the pamphlet handed to me at the admissions gate and quickly went over the scheduled matches. _So his fight is the last one then. If I know Kakashi, he’ll wait til the last second before showing up in a stupidly dramatic way. Though I suppose it might work in Sasuke’s favor considering this is all a big show for the kage and feudal lords._ I checked the pamphlet again before looking back at the contestants. _There’s another one missing. Yoroi Akado. Did he not show up since he already beat me? If he was on Kabuto’s team, then it would make sense for all of them to be rookie crushers. They can’t keep doing that kind of thing if they pass the exams though._ **_Fucking cowardly bitch. Too scared to fight anyone truly strong._ **

The constants vacated the arena, save for Shino and Akio. The first round had begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Throws a dead mom in there since we never see or hear about her.*


	34. The Final Exam Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first few matches of the final exam are here, I might not be posting too often since I'm back in school.

The battle was mesmerizing, Akio dancing out of black waves of insects, lightning cascading off of him. The insects bursting from contact as he continued forward towards a retreating Shino. Bodies twisting midair, redirecting to try and outmaneuver the other, the swarm dwindling as electricity grew fainter, more precise in its pursuit to thin Shino’s numbers. _This guy’s chakra control has to be incredibly fine to pull off a feat like this._

Just as the swarm was nearly eradicated Shino pivoted, shooting towards Akio. Akio pulled back a fist and discharged lightning as he made contact, blowing a hole right through Shino’s chest.

“ **Insect Clone.** ”

The crowd gasped as Shino’s body dissolved into a mass of insects, crawling up Akio’s forearm and legs, covering his body in a matter of seconds. But with a huge burst of chakra the insects were blasted off, many of them dying from over absorption.

“ **Assassin’s Instinct.** ”

Just as the real Shino appeared behind him, Akio turned around and grasped Shino by the neck, lightning rippling across his form, and slammed him into the ground. The earth underneath cracking from the impact. Akio seemed to stiffen for a split second before lifting Shino off the ground and throwing him across the arena. He let out another discharge of chakra around his arm, killing the insects that had crawled onto him during his attack.

Shino slowly stood up, adjusting his glasses as he went. He rushed forward once more as Akio released his spear from the seal in his fur cloak.

“ **Air Slicer.** ”

Akio focused his chakra into the weapon and began slashing wildly, the gusts of wind seemed much weaker than what he had used during the preliminaries though. _He can’t afford the proper cooldown time to charge his chakra for a really powerful attack that might not land, so instead he’s creating multiple smaller attacks in order to cover a wider area._ And just like that, one of the slashes landed, cutting into Shino’s side and knocking him off balance. Spatters of blood landed on the dirt as Shino skidded to a stop, hand grasping the red stained gash. He kneeled down and performed several hand signs too quick for me to follow and slammed his bloody hand on the ground.

“ **Summoning Jutsu.** ”

In the academy, Iruka had always told us that when conjured, a summoning beast appears in a swirl of smoke, much like Kakashi and many other high ranked shinobi. So I was more than a little surprised when a giant ladybug burst out of the ground, sending chunks of dirt and rock into the air. With no time to mould his chakra, Akio stabbed the bug’s underbelly with his spear, a torrent of purple blood splashing back at him, spraying his face and cloak. He sputtered and spat the foul liquid out as he released the spear, blood making it too slick to hold onto as the bug slid into the hole it had emerged from, shrieking as it’s legs convulsed, a plume of smoke escaping as it vanished. He tried to rub the blood out of his eyes as something in his fur cloak had begun to move. Small worm like bugs were crawling out of the blood soaked fur and began burrowing into Akio’s skin.

“Get them off, get them off!” He screamed, clawing at his face, random arrays of lightning flickering as he failed to keep the concentration for a proper discharge.

I fisted my hands around the cloth of my shirt as his screams drowned out the sound of cheering spectators. My eyes widening as yoki tightened in my stomach. **_Infested, rotting. Crawling inside me, all over, everywhere, blood soaking under fingernails as they sought to rend flesh._ **

I closed my eyes, holding back burning acid in the back of my throat. I tried disrupting my chakra, but… unlike during the bell test, this was no genjutsu.

I vaguely registered Ino trying not to gag next to me. “ _Oh gods, what the hell._ ”

 

After Shino had been declared the winner the ref cast a few fire jutsus around the the arena to burn away the blood and remaining maggots.

The next two contestants were Shinichi and Hatsume.

“Now this should be an interesting fight, it’s about time we saw a match between teammates.” Ino said.

I agreed with her, thinking it was actually a little odd that no one from the same team had fought each other in the preliminaries. That fact, along with some of the match ups, made it seem as though they weren’t quite as random as we had been led to believe. I voiced as much to her, “I mean seriously, right? Like, you vs. Sakura, the two Hyugas, Sasuke and Kiba; who were the best in the practicals from our class I might add, it all seemed way too convenient.”

“And the final match for the first round is gonna be Sasuke and Gaara!” She exclaimed.

“The last Uchiha and the Kazekage’s son!” I added. “I guess it makes some sense, a fight like that isn’t likely to happen ever again.” _Not to mention that seeing two Hyugas in the finals would get old fast. Old man third really does think ahead of everyone._

 

**Shinichi pov**

_Okay, no big deal. Just a friendly fight really. Like sparring, we’ve sparred tons of times… Only this time there’s ninjutsu… and hundreds of people watching. But it’s just like a spar. She’s not going to try and kill me or anything like that… not with so many people… No, she wouldn’t do it anyway, even with no one watching… We’re still friends… right?_

**_Hatsume’s a lying, backstabbing bitch. She was going to let you die too._ ** Sakura’s words rung through my head as I stepped through the gate and into the arena, images of exploding tags and shrapnel cycling through, interspersed with _that smile._

**_You should be careful Shin, you’ll end up worse than Sakura._ **

I shook my head, clearing it of those unwanted thoughts. _All that matters right now is the match, showing what I can do, that I have something to offer_. I straightened my spine as I looked her in the eyes, the roar of the crowd fading as the proctor raised his hand. Hatsume had _that look_ , the one that meant she was taking things seriously, no mischievous smile or glint in her eye, no taunts or jeers. _This won’t be like a spar at all, this will be a real fight._ My heart rate spiked, I got into opening stance, careful to keep my limbs from shaking.

“Begin!”

Rather than close the distance like I normally would, I decided to widen the gap as Hatsume unfurled her whip. _Her divine beast is powerful, but chakra intensive, she won’t risk activating it until she’s caught me_.

“ **Earth style: Mud Wall.** ” I slammed my palms on the ground, bringing up a wall of dirt to shield me as I created two academy style clones, sending them around either side as I vaulted over top of the wall. Hatsume lashed out, her whip dispelling both clones as I descended on her from above. She dodged out of the way as I struck the ground. _Damn it._ “ **Phoenix style: Moonlit Dance.** ” Flames engulfed my arms as she scrambled backwards, evading my strikes in quick succession. _I can’t give her any time to recover, if she manages to get any distance it’s over._

I sent chakra pumping through my legs and charged forward. As she leapt to the side I planted my foot, twisting earth around it, and pivoted. As she stumbled from the earth shifting under her feet, I put up a mini **mud wall** behind her. Hatsume fell backwards as I wrenched my foot out of the twisted earth and dove towards her with flaming fists.

She twisted to the side and delivered a punch to my gut. My body convulsed as a jolt of lightning chakra passed through me, my arms refusing to cooperate as the flames surrounding them flared up. I could feel the thin layer of protective chakra around my skin waver for a moment, spots of intense heat tickling my body.

Hatsume twisted out from under me and went around back, her whip snapping before wrapping around my neck, constricting my airways. There was a harsh pull on my neck, the world spinning as I flew through the air.

“ **Lightning style: Divine Beast.** ” Pain shot through my body as I was slammed into the ground, piercing, hot, _burning._ I was helpless to do anything but thrash as spots clouded my vision, darkness growing until it swallowed the world whole.

  


**Kagame pov**

Since Yoroi had neglected to show up, Sakura was declared winner by default.

My heart rate elevated as both Naruto and Neji entered the arena, each sporting a look of contempt for their opponent. My eyes briefly scanned the competitors box looking to see if Sasuke had arrived with Kakashi yet. _I can’t believe he’s really going to miss Naruto’s first match like this. Isn’t it a sensei’s duty to support their students?_ **_Did you believe that horseshit he said about teams being like family? It’s not like he actually cares about any of you… Well… Except Sasuke._ **

I brushed the thoughts aside as I refocused on the battle unfolding before me. Things didn’t look so great for Naruto as Neji’s defense seemed impenetrable. His hands flashed quickly as he deftly blocked each of Naruto’s attacks before countering with open palmed strikes. Blue flares of chakra splashing as he made contact.

I stood up and shouted, “Come on Naruto, show this ass what you’re made of!” _I’ll just have to be enough support for all three of us then!_

I watched with rapt attention as Naruto attempted to outmaneuver Neji with the help of his shadow clones, but with the byakugan activated it was almost like Neji had eyes in the back of his head. Even so, Naruto was able to land a few hits. But the tone of the fight suddenly shifted as Neji began untying his headband, Naruto’s body becoming much more tense. _What the hell is going on down there?_

I channeled yoki into my eyes, ignoring the pull on my consciousness as I did so. A green ‘X’ coming into focus on Neji’s forehead. **_The same brand was on the other Hyuga as well._ **

My eyes moved to the stands searching for Hyuga who had come to watch, _luckily they aren’t too hard to pick out from a crowd_. My eyes eventually landed on a middle aged man and what looked to be his daughter. His forehead was clearly displayed, lacking any sort of marking at all. **_It is to denote one as property._ ** _Property?_ **_Yes, one would not be able to brand another person unless they owned them._ **

I tore my gaze away from the man as I felt a burst of the nine tails chakra. The pressure in the back of my head grew as an orange bubble expanded until it had fully engulfed Naruto’s form, Neji shifting his stance in preparation for his next attack. I shut out the voice and pushed back my yoki, closing my eyes as I cradled my head between my hands, but the pressure kept building, my skull felt like someone was trying to pry it open.

“-ame?” Ino’s voice was distorted, like she was underwater, _or maybe I was underwater_?

The pressure finally dissipated after several excruciating moments, my grip loosening as I sat up straight, liquid dripping down my nose. I looked over to Ino who was still trying to talk to me, a look of worry on her and Choji’s faces. I brushed my hand under my nose and looked down at it, _is that blood?_ Ino rummaged around in her pack and pulled out a packet of wet naps before proceeding to wipe at my face. The noise of the arena slowly starting to phase back in.

“Kagame, you’re really starting to scare me.”

I turned away from her knitted brow, looking back out at the arena as a giant cloud of dust began to settle. “Yeah… Sorry…” I replied absentmindedly.

Both Neji and Naruto laid in adjacent craters, my stomach dropped as Neji crawled out of his hole and stood to his feet. _Naruto can’t lose now._ He stopped a few feet away, smirking as he looked down at Naruto’s prone form.

“Kagame! You need medical attention!” Ino snapped.

“I _need_ to know how this ends!” I shot back, refusing to take my eyes off the match.

My eyes widened as Naruto poofed into smoke, revealing a small hole underneath. He then burst out of the ground, delivering a devastating uppercut to Neji.

“There, you saw it, he won, now let’s get you taken care of!”

“I’m fine.”

“Someone who is fine doesn’t just double over in pain like that for no reason!” Ino huffed.

“Kagame’s just a sensor, that’s all.”

I jumped up out of my seat and slammed my head into Kakashi’s face, eliciting a groan from the older man as he fell off of the back of my chair. I rubbed the top of my head as I glared at him.

“Sensei, how come you never show up like a regular person?” I muttered.

“Well that’s just not as entertaining.” He said as he vaulted into my chair, stealing my seat.

“You’re a sensor?!” Ino asked incredulously.

“Ugh…” _Yes, kind of, maybe?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shinichi's phoenix style is a combination of fire style ninjutsu and taijutsu. He has a protective layer of chakra flowing over him to protect him from the fire.


	35. Because I Must

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was originally gonna split this into two chapters, but then I didn't. So here's a long chapter for ya. Comment below.

“Sorry I’m late by the way, but with your new scent and…” Kakashi gave me a cursory glance before continuing, “your… _outfit_ , it was a little hard to find you.”

“You’re seriously gonna blame me for being late?”

“Well I also had to help Sasuke prepare for his entrance of course.”

“Not to interrupt or anything, but can you move? Cuz that’s Kagame’s seat you’re sitting in.” Ino said.

Kakashi looked at her for a moment before turning his back to her entirely. “ _Anyway_ , seeing as how you’re already getting overwhelmed from all these powerful chakra signatures, I think it’s time you went back home.” I could tell from the look in his eye that this wasn’t a suggestion.

“ _Excuse me_! But you can’t just ignore someone who’s talking to you!” Ino screeched. “And the first round of fights isn’t even over, Kagame can’t just leave now!”

Kakashi turned back to face, agitation leaking into his voice, “Weren’t you the one who was worried about him just a minute ago?”

Ino shrunk back into her seat, intimidated by his harsh tone. “Well, ugh-”

“It’s fine.” I put on my best smile, forcing a bit of cheer into my voice. “Sensei’s right, I’m at a weird stage in my abilities right now, too sensitive and not sensitive enough. I thought I’d be able to handle things, but I guess not.” _I should have known that Naruto would draw on the nine tails, that’s the whole point of his training with the pervy sage._ “Just… don’t worry, ok? We can catch up later and you can tell me all about the other fights!”

A scowl settled across her face. “Fine.” The unsaid ‘ _I won’t forget about this_ ’ was not lost on me.

I said my goodbyes to her and Kakashi, and even spared a small wave for a pensive looking Choji, before I calmly ascended the steps leading to the stairwell. The ref announcing the start of Shikamaru’s match as I walked into the poorly lit corridor. _I didn’t know who to root for in this match anyway._

 

**Sasuke pov**

Waiting for my match to come up was nerve wracking, fear and excitement were swirling around in my gut, my fingers tapping rhythmically at my side. Kakashi had left for a few minutes near the end of Naruto’s match, _or at least I think that’s when he left_. He didn’t say anything about where he was or what he was doing, and I didn’t ask him. All I could think of was finally getting the chance to fight Gaara. _If I can just beat him_.

I didn’t like waiting like this. Or at all for that matter. I’ve never been good at waiting, but hiding away like this, to make some sort of _entrance_. It’s too much like something Naruto would do. And I know he’ll give me crap for it later, thinking that it was _my_ idea.

The only good part of this arrangement is getting to watch the matches without him chatting my ear off and going ‘oooh’ or ‘ahhh’ or ‘woah’.

But at the same time, sitting alone with Kakashi is… _eerie_. _He’s so quiet that I can’t even hear him breath._

I let out a sigh as Shikamaru’s shadow possession finally made contact with his opponent.

_I’ll prove how strong I’ve become. Once I take down Gaara, the rest will fall like dominos._

The two shinobi raised their hands slowly as the crowd watched with rapt attention. Only to be caught off guard by Shikamaru’s forfeit.

Kakashi rose to his feet, putting away his orange book. “Keep your guard up, I have a feeling your opponent still has something up his sleeve.”

“He won’t even be able to touch me.” I scoffed. _I need to win, I can’t lose, not again._ I brushed my hand against the pale mark on my neck. _And I’ll become even stronger after this._

 

**Kagame pov**

_What am I even supposed to do now?_ I was nearly back home when the pressure returned. I clutched the fabric above my chest as I turned around looking in the direction of the arena, Gaara’s demonic chakra spreading out, the malice intertwined far greater than what I had sensed from Naruto. _What are the chances that two fucking demons would be in the same place?_ **_Four if you count us and Orochimaru._ **

I went still, blood turning to ice in my veins. _You mean…_

**_He’s still here, in the arena for that matter. Like a snake drawn out of the brush by the scent of blood, his yoki is drawn out by Gaara’s chakra._ **

I closed my eyes and focused, Gaara’s massive presence overwhelming as his desire to kill grew. But slithering underneath it was yoki, not born of anger like my own, but a pure sickening delight. **_Ecstasy. Madness. Obsession. That is the snake’s drive._ **

I fell to my knees, trembling as my senses retreated back. _What should I do…_

**_What happened to your ‘own power’? Have you lost confidence so quickly?_ **

 

**Ino pov**

The whole exchange had been weird. There was something else being communicated, _I have no earthly clue on what it was, but it was definitely there._

I glared to my left where Kagame’s weirdo sensei was still seated _(though I was sure he left during Shika's match)_  totally oblivious to the fact that I was onto him. _I mean seriously! Their whole team stinks of secrecy! Kagame’s sudden sensing ability, which didn’t even show any signs during the other fights today. Naruto’s crazy new strength. And then there’s that whole scene from the forest, with Kagame leaning over Sasuke and spitting. Something strange is going on with their team, and I’m going to find out._

The crowd suddenly let out a collective gasp as Sasuke’s speed dramatically increased. I found myself leaning forward as he sent Gaara flying back with a kick and then circling around him in a flurry of dust. His fighting style changing to match what I had seen from Lee a month ago. He slipped under Gaara’s sand and delivered a series of devastating blows, cracks forming and widening along Gaara’s sand armor as he went.

_This is just insane, there’s no way someone could learn a whole new fighting style in so little time. Sure he was already impressive in his fight with Kiba, but this is a whole other level. And on top of that, why learn a technique that didn’t work on Gaara the first time?_

 

**Sasuke pov**

Gaara’s demeanor suddenly changed as he formed the horse sign, sand forming a shell around him. I lunged forward, aiming a punch where the sand was converging, trying to stop whatever he was up to quick. But even with this speed I was unable to make it in time. Pain radiating through my fist and up my arm as I made contact with the shell. I jumped back just in time to avoid being skewered by newly protruding spikes. _So it’s not called the ultimate defense for nothing._ I stared down at my hand, knuckles red and bleeding from where I hit the sand. _This shell is a lot thicker and denser than his sand armor._

 

**Naruto pov**

“Kaka-sensei!” I shouted as Shikamaru and I entered the stands. “Please, you gotta stop this match right away! The guy Sasuke is fighting is a total freak, he’s as far away from normal as a guy can get!”

“Naruto, slow down. What the heck are you talking about?!” Ino asked. I was so focused on warning sensei that I didn’t notice her at first. It was really _weird_ that she and Choji were sitting with him. _No, gotta focus!_

“This guy, he thinks he’s some kind of demon, he said his whole life is just about killing people! He even tried to kill Bushy Brow in the hospital the other day! If you don’t do something, Sasuke will die!”

Kakashi-sensei stared at me for minute without saying anything, and then just! Turned his head back to the fight! _Didn’t he listen to anything I just said?!_

“Hold on a second! Are you just gonna ignore him?!” Ino shouted, standing up on her seat.

“Wait, why are you trying to help _me_?”

Ino let out a frustrated growl, “This is the new and improved Ino you're talking to, alright? So just shut up and let me help.” _How can it be an improvement if you’re still this bossy?_

“You can all shut up.” Kakashi said. “There’s nothing to worry about, we weren’t just goofing around this whole time. Just keep your eye on Sasuke.”

I looked down into the arena, Sasuke had climbed up the wall clutching his hand as lightning sparked from it. _Cool! What kind of jutsu is that? I’ve never seen something like that before!_

 

**Sasuke pov**

I let loose a feral scream as I raced down the wall, lightning chirping as I ran, digging a trench alongside me. “ **Chidori!** ” I narrowly dodged the sand spikes thrust at me as I forced my hand through the shell until I was elbow deep, making contact with something warm and slick.

But the grin plastered on my face quickly fell as my moment of triumph changed into horror. Gaara let loose a blood curdling scream. I tried to dislodge my arm as foreign chakra invaded, burning hot in my veins, sand tightening around me. I discharged lightning to try and loosen it, heart pounding in fear as images of _that night_ flashed before my eyes, all the while Gaara’s screams became less and less coherent.

_Mother, father! Blood everywhere. Why did you do this!?_

I managed to rend myself free of his sand, a strange protrusion coming out after me, blue lines- _veins?_ \- crisscrossing the appendage. I fell to my knees, trying to shake away the cloud that had settled over my brain as the protrusion retreated into the sand shell, where something… _inhuman_ squirmed inside. And for just a moment it’s eye caught mine, and it stared right through me. _That same stare as that man._ I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms as I fought to keep from shaking, breath labored and uneven, beads of sweat rolling down my neck and back. _I won’t lose, I’m not scared, I’m not!_

A monstrous growl echoed out from the shell, hot wind blasting me in the face as the sand cracked and then lost all cohesion, pouring down the sides until Gaara, bleeding and wheezing, was all that stood before me. The air turning thick as his eyes dilated, white feathers falling from the sky, reaching out towards me, softly brushing against my skin. My eyes drooped as the adrenaline in my veins began to subside. A warm embrace engulfing me, a warmth I haven’t felt since… _mother._

My eyes immediately widened in panic. I forced my hands to form the tiger sign and grit my teeth. I hesitated for just a moment, on the edge of succumbing to the warm feeling surrounding the arena, inching its way into my chest. “Kai!” I released my chakra in a pulse, the feathers scattering as I regained clarity, just in time to see Gaara’s siblings carry him away.

Rage swelled in my chest as I rose to my feet. _It’s not over yet, I haven’t won, I need to prove…_ “That I can beat him!” The end of my thought bursting through my mouth as I ran after the sand nin.

 

**Kagame pov**

The two signatures suddenly flared, the one I recognized as Gaara fluctuating heavily before suddenly moving _away_ from the arena, while Orochimaru felt like he was swallowed up by something, disappearing entirely. _What the hell is going on over there?_

**_There’s only one way to find out._ **

 

**Sakura pov**

I had been standing in the competitor’s box with Shino _(none of the other competitors had returned yet)_ when the genjutsu fell over the arena. I quickly dispelled it, turning to Shino to ask what was going on as shinobi in grey began to appear in mass.

“It would appear we are being attacked.” He replied coolly.

I let out a breath of disbelief as fights began to break out all over, with sand nin _helping_ the mysterious invaders, cutting down their leaf allies.

“Well what do we do?”

“I am going to go after Sasuke, why? Because I wish to fight the shinobi accompanying his target. You are free to do as you please.” And without so much as a goodbye, Shino disappeared in a cloud of bugs, leaving me all alone in the middle of an invasion.

_Ok, just calm down Sakura, in case of an attack a genin should report to the nearest superior and ask for orders._

**_‘As if finding someone in this mess’ll be easy.’_ ** Inner grouched.

I rushed to the stairwell, the sound of my footsteps drowned out by the sound of explosions and metal clashing outside. I entered one of the spectators stands to see an all out battle was already taking place, several shinobi already lied in pools of their own blood, kunai and shuriken littering the floor. I was surprised to see a lack of panicked civilians, all of them slumped over in their seats, unaware that numerous fights were taking place all around them, and even above them in many cases.

“Sakura! What are you doing here!”

“Ino!” I called back in surprise.

She was cowering near the base of her seat, a grey haired leaf nin standing protectively above her, slashing the neck of one enemy and immediately twisting out of the way of another’s attack.

“The both of you listen up now, I need you to wake up Naruto and Shikamaru!” He said.

“What about Choji?” I turned my head to see he was slumped in his seat next to Ino, much like the civilians were. _He must not have noticed the genjutsu._

“No, you’ll need a small squad for the mission I’m about to give you, now hurry up!” He growled.

Ino crawled out from under him as I rushed to Shikamaru’s side. I made the hand sign and was about to dispel the genjutsu when I noticed him twitch. I grit my teeth and hit him upside the head.

“Ouch! What the hell was that for!” He shouted, bolting upright.

“Shikamaru, you lazy bum! You were just gonna lay there while we almost died!” Ino shouted from next to a heavy eyed Naruto.

The grey haired nin knelt beside us, slamming a scroll marked with blood on the ground. A puff of smoke emanated from it before being replaced with a small dog.

“This here is Pakkun. He’s going to be helping you complete your mission.”

The dog raised his paw, letting out a deep, “Yo.”

Naruto bolted upright, eyes gleaming. “Talking doggie!” _He might be a lot stronger now, but he still acts like a little kid._

“So what’s the mission, old man?” Shikamaru yawned.


	36. Awaken, Demon of the Sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title explains it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you guys were wondering why I had Ino go with them, it's because she's been training basically her whole life to use the Yamanaka mind techniques, which are all mind based jutsu, so honestly something like the genjutsu we see in canon probably wouldn't work on her.

**Naruto pov**

“Damn Bakakashi-sensei.” I growled. “When I tell him Sasuke can’t fight that guy, he’s all ‘ _shut up and watch_ ’. And now I gotta go after the bastard and stop him myself!”

“Will you shut up already. I don’t want to do this any more than you do, but it’s bad enough without your shouting.” Shikamaru sighed.

We were jumping through the treetops, heading deeper into the forest after Pakkun. We hadn’t yet seen any sign of Sasuke, Shino, or the sand bastards and I was starting to get really pissed off. _Sure it’s cool that we’re on an A rank, I guess, but why is everything always about Sasuke? I guess I should just be glad that neither Sakura or Ino is fangirling right now._

“We need to hurry up, we’re being followed!” Pakkun barked.

“Already?!” Ino exclaimed.

“There are two squads. That’s eight- no- there are nine ninja following us.”

“Aw man. Give me a break here!” Shikamaru sighed.

Pakkun dropped down to the forest floor, the rest of us following after.

“Why are we stopping! You said we needed to hurry up!” I yelled.

“Shut up and follow after me.” Pakkun began to walk backwards, carefully placing his paws in the prints he had left behind earlier. “If we do this, then we might be able to lose them. Then it’ll look like our footprints seem to disappear.”

“They’d have to be pretty lame if this throws em off.”

 

**Kagame pov**

I wanted to go after Gaara, I really did, but… Before I could even reach the wooded area I had sensed him rushing towards, there was an explosion. Smoke rising from one of the surrounding walls protecting the city. _It’s an invasion._

I glanced back at the woods for a long moment.

“ _Fuck_ ” I ran towards the wall as sounds of smashing rock and breaking glass intensified.

_I need to help evacuate, someone else will look into Gaara. A shinobi is someone who protect others, especially those who can’t protect themselves._

 

**Ino pov**

_It didn’t work, of course it didn’t work. That would’ve been too easy._

“I’ll do it, I’ll be the one to stay behind.” Shikamaru exclaimed.

I whipped around in shock, nearly missing the next branch and having to catch it with my hands to stop from falling to the forest floor.

“Shikamaru you can’t do this by yourself! Let me-”

“No.” He cut me off mid sentence. “What good will you do against them, I can at least hold them for awhile.”

“You’re exhausted! You spent most of your chakra in the exam!” I argued.

“Will you just shut up and listen for once!” I snapped my mouth shut. _Sure he’s raised his voice before, but he’s never straight out yelled at me_. “It’s better than all of us getting wiped out, and I’m the only one who even has a shot at delaying them long enough for everyone else to get away.”

“That’s not fair. You can’t just ask me to let you do this.” I grit my teeth. “I told you day one, that I’m the boss. I can’t- I _won't_ let you!” Tears began welling up in my eyes as he turned his back on me.

“That’s right, you’re the boss. So what would Choji and I do if you weren’t around?”

“And you’re his best friend! Isn’t that more important!”

Shikamaru raised his arm and gave a thumbs up. “Get going already. I’ll be sure to catch up later. After all, the shadow possession jutsu was invented as a delay tactic.”

 

 _We left. We left him behind. We left him behind to_ die _. He finally decides to be his own person, to actually do_ something _. And for this? A mission to save the boy who never acknowledged me, right after I decided not to care about him anymore? How fucked up is that?_

 

**Kagame pov**

It was strange, _really strange_. I hadn’t seen hide or hair of any civilians. _It’s not like they can all be at the arena._

I stopped dead in my tracks as another explosion rang out. I glanced up as a large snake, _a monumentally large three headed snake,_ burst out of the smoke in the distance. _It’s even bigger than the ones from the forest._

I felt all the energy drain out of me as it let out a terrible shriek, waves of killing intent sweeping over me. _I can’t…_

I took quick shallow breaths as I stumbled backwards, the snake’s heads slamming against the ground, toppling several buildings as it did. The earth shook from the snakes massive size, a gust of wind and debris blew through the streets, my hair whipping around me as dust obscured my vision.

“What the hell are you still doing here kid?!”

I snapped around, kunai in hand, ready to slash at the voice when a hand wrapped around my wrist. I was quickly pulled forward, weapon knocked out of my hand as a leg sweeped me out from under my feet. Before I could hit the ground an arm wrapped around my waist and hoisted me over my assailant’s shoulder. My eyes were met with beige fabric.

“I can’t believe I gotta take another trip to the evac area. That asshole from the sensory corp won’t know what hit him when I get my fucking hands on him! _Oh don’t worry Anko, there aren’t any more civilians in the area!_ Tch!”

_Anko? I’ve heard that name before, and this voice._

I shifted in her grip to get a better look at the woman carrying me. It was a little difficult with the position I was in, but I managed to at least see her purple ponytail and the side of her face, and very surprisingly, a black three tomoe mark at the base of her neck. _Just like the one on Sasuke’s._

She turned her head and snapped, “Will you quit squirming around! I’m gonna fucking drop you and hitting the pavement from the rooftops hurts like a mother! Do you know how many genin get put on medical leave for that shit?!”

I stilled under her gaze, choosing to obey as killing intent and demonic chakra swirled throughout the village. _Dark, heavy, hot, sharp._ The pain in the back of my head slowly creeping up towards the rest of my brain, clawing at my skull. _Sasuke, Naruto, Ino, please, stay safe._

**_We both know that’s too much to ask for._ **

 

**Sasuke pov**

I couldn’t help the smirk that had settled on my face. Things were going almost too well. Shino had showed up to deal with the puppeteer, and Temari had been little more than a brief annoyance, one which Gaara took care of on his own, knocking her out of the way when she attempted to help him. My chakra spiked in anticipation as I drew near, his skin cracking as sand fell away from his face.

“I can’t wait to see what you really are.”

“You’ll die here Uchiha, you’re purpose is weaker than mine. I exist to kill, and your death will prove my existence!” Collapsing on the branch he was perched on, clutching his head in agony, Gaara let out a pained wail. The surrounding air changing, heating up as he screamed. “You are my prey!”

 

**Kagame pov**

“I can walk on my own ya know.” I muttered. My headache began to subside as we entered the evac tunnels in Hokage Monument. Luminous seals were etched into the rock wall, the steady stream of chakra emanating from them helping to drown out the crashing hot waves of conflict outside.

“Can you now? Cuz last I saw you were just standing there waiting to be crushed by falling debris.”

“Well there’s no falling debris here, right?” As soon as those words left my mouth Anko had dropped me with all the grace of garbage being thrown into the dumpster.

“Well don’t just lay there, get your ass up, we don’t got all day, kid.”

I stood up and dusted myself off, trying to keep from scowling with little luck. Anko chuckled as she turned and walked ahead.

“So can I ask you a question?”

“You just did kiddo.”

I made a small noise of indignation before trying again.

“That mark on your neck… it’s from… _him_ , isn’t it?”

She stopped abruptly, nearly causing me to crash into her back. She turned around and looked at me, really looked at me.

“You’re on the same team as that Uchiha brat, aren’t you.”

I shifted uncomfortably under her scrutinizing gaze.

“Yeah, I am.” There were several moments of silence as she watched me before we continued forward.

“It is. I was one of his students before he abandoned the leaf.” And more quietly, almost too quiet to hear, she muttered, “ _His last damn guinea pig, before lord third chased him off._ ” Anko rubbed her neck absentmindedly and stopped in front of a wooden door. “Don’t worry about your friend, I took a look at him myself, and I can safely say his mark ain’t doin’ shit.”

“I didn’t say I was worried about him.” I hissed, heat rushing to my cheeks as she led me inside of a room filled with civilians and academy children.

 

**Sasuke pov**

He had transformed, or was in the middle of it. His eye taking on the appearance from what I had seen moving inside of the sand shell. I couldn’t help to stop my body from shaking as it’s piercing gaze cut right through me. Sand had twisted around the right side of his body, forming an almost flesh like surface.

I hid behind a nearby tree as he slowly stood up, taunting me. _Though it’s hard to take someone seriously when they look like that_.

I exited my hiding place and used a substitution to avoid his first strike, his strange limb tearing a hole through the side of the log I left in my place. Once I was behind him I let out a barrage of kunai, but rather than dodge them Gaara stood his ground blocking them with his arm. And while it may have looked close to flesh, the kunai disappearing into it proved otherwise. Even in places where they hit the blue veins there was no blood or signs of damage. He then shot the kunai back towards me at an alarming speed. I barely managed to escape with a clone taking my place, immediately dispelled as I hid once more.

_This guy is a freak. If I want to do any damage I’ll have to either pierce through his sand or attack the part that hasn’t been covered._

“Sasuke! Where did you go! Are you afraid!” He proceeded to tear through the trees with his limb, shouting like a mad man. “What happened to all that hatred I saw! Has it been reduced to nothing! Will you turn and run!”

I grit my teeth. _Damn it, I can’t let him get to me. I need to keep a level head if I want to have an advantage. If it comes down to brute force, he’ll win._

“Prove your existence is greater than mine! You’ll never know unless you fight me!”

 

_“Why did you do it brother!”_

_“To test my ability. How else would I know unless I killed them?”_

 

I saw red as a stillness washed over me. My hands surprisingly steady as I automatically went through the hand signs for chidori. _I will… kill him. I’ll prove he was wrong!_ Lightning engulfed my hand, chirping as the eerie glow lit up air around me.

“With one blow, I’ll finish this.”

I leapt forward, cutting straight through his limb as he attacked, parting it like butter as he let out a pained howl. _If I kill him, a monster like this thing, then Itachi…_

I couldn’t even finish that thought before Gaara’s screams turned to laughter. “This is what I’ve been looking for! To kill something this strong, someone who can actually cause me pain, will be an even greater proof of my life!” A new appendage sprouted from his body as he raved, something akin to a tail by the looks of it. _How many of these damn things is he gonna grow?_

He burst forward, moving at an even greater speed than before, tearing apart the branch I was standing on merely seconds ago. He shot forward again, sand wrapping around him as I blasted him with a fireball. He emerged from the flames and knocked me back, barely giving me time to brace myself as I broke through several branches and slammed against a tree trunk. _This isn’t good, I’m already at my limit for chidori, but my fireball didn’t even faze him. But if I don’t do anything, then I’ll die._

“That was pathetic, you have no better proof than that? You won’t live much longer if that’s the case.” Gaara snarled. “Your hatred is weak, you’re far too soft. It’s only the power hate that gives you the strength to kill.”

“Shut up…”

“You can’t win.”

“Just shut up!” I shouted.

“You are weaker than I am!” He pressed.

Chidori flared to life in my hand as we charged one another again, anger pulsing through my veins.

 

**Anko pov**

The kid dropped the ration bar I had handed him, head snapping towards the wall, eyes widening in fear. I tensed as he stood up.

“ _This is…_ ” He was cut off mid sentence as a ninja from the sensory corp slammed open the door.

“Mitarashi, there’s been a huge surge of chakra in the eastern forest!”

“It’s Gaara!” _The Kazekage’s brat?_ The kid was shaking at this point, the heels from his shoes clattering against the floor as his fists clenched around my coat. “He’s-”

The kid collapsed into my arms, the sensory nin lowered his hand, a stern look in his eye. He turned to the rest of the room issuing a statement to stay calm to the civilians inside. _Yeah, like there’s nothing to worry about when you just judo chopped a scared kid in the back of the neck._

I laid the kid down, asking one of the civie women nearby to look after him while I stepped out with the douchebag.

 

**Sasuke pov**

My chidori fizzled out before I even got close to him, the energy draining from my body as I flew through the air. I was met by a hard, coarse surface, slamming into my body with enough force to knock the air from my lungs, followed by another blow from behind.

I desperately gasped for air as sand tightened around me, Gaara’s deranged laughter ringing in my ears.

“Sasuke!” _That voice… it’s Naruto_.

The next thing I know I’m flying through the air again, the crushing force from before gone. I felt momentarily relieved as my lungs greedily sucked in air, before crashing into something soft, two thin arms wrapping around me.

“Kagame?” I rasped. A pair of blurry pale eyes leaning over me as I was carefully set down.

“Sorry, but I’m just a fill in.” The eyes pulled away, blush dusting the cheeks of what my exhausted mind recognized as the Yamanaka girl, before darkness swallowed up my vision whole.

 

**Ino pov**

“Guys, get up! We have to go now!” Naruto yelled.

I stared at Gaara as he shot forward, the terrifying look in his eyes pinning me in place. And then…

“Sakura!” Red fabric obscured my vision.

 

**Naruto pov**

“Get out of my way!” Gaara screamed, sand arm circling around Sakura as he pinned her to a nearby tree.

Ino scrambled off the branch with Sasuke as Gaara landed just inches from where they just sat.

“Damn it. Damn it Billboard Brow!” Ino yelled. “Let go of her you bastard!”

Gaara’s arm tightened around Sakura, eliciting a yelp of pain. _I have to do something. I have to save them._

“As long as you fight for the sake of others, you’ll never stand a chance against me. Forget about your friends, or you’ll die.”

“Just shut up already, I’m sick of listening to you!” I jumped forward with kunai in hand. “I’m taking you down!”


	37. Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's spring break, here's a chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided not to write the fight between Naruto and Gaara, because I didn't feel like it was really necessary to include, it really plays out the same as in canon except Ino's there on the sideline this time. So here's the aftermath of Konoha Crush.

I awoke to the soft light emanating from the luminous seals, my head propped up on a civilian woman’s lap. She smiled down at me as I stirred, helping me sit up. I briefly registered the dull pain in my neck as I glanced about the room. There was no sign of Anko or any other shinobi. I closed my eyes focusing on my chakra, cool and soft, and at the center, sitting in the pit of my stomach resided my yoki, wrapped tightly around itself, burning hot. Outside of myself was the steady warmth of the seals, like links of chain bound together, beyond that was a stagnant mire of red hot anger, the sharp barbs having rounded out, losing their edge.

I snapped my eyes open as the door swung open, a shinobi I didn’t recognize saying it was now safe for us to return to our homes. I stood up slowly, my limbs moving stiffly as we all filed out into the tunnels. Footsteps and relieved murmurs echoed against the walls as people exchanged smiles and squeezed hands. Yet I couldn’t help but think on my team, who were still out there, away from the safety of the rock walls around me.

I blinked as we exited the tunnels, the harsh light of the setting sun momentarily blinding me. I flinched back when my eyes adjusted, the village was in shambles, scorch marks, upturned electrical poles, and fallen debris littered the street, the damage only getting more extensive the further out from the village center we got.

I let out a sigh of relief when I arrived at my home. The apartment complex and the surrounding area were in relatively good shape, apparently far enough away from the arena and the villages main roads to avoid the interest of the invading forces.

I toed off my borrowed shoes and flipped the light switch only to remain in darkness. _No power then._ I drew up chakra to my hand until it glowed a soft blue, illuminating the space around me. I padded over to the kitchen and opened the fridge, downing a bottle of water to soothe the dryness in my throat.

I peeled off my clothes and carefully folded them, placing the pile on the chair by my desk and headed to my bathroom. I turned one of the knobs on my sink, crossing my fingers for running water only to be denied that as well. I sighed deeply and headed to my bed, flopping down face first. Despite the amount of time I slept in the tunnels, I found myself to be exhausted. Thoughts of my team being pushed to the back of my mind as I drifted off back to unconsciousness.

 

I woke up while it was still dark, I had no idea of what time it was or how long I had slept. There was still no water or electricity. I threw on a shirt and some shorts, tied my headband around my neck and slid on my normal footwear before slipping out into the warm summer night. The damage to the village didn’t look so bad in the night, the kindly light of the moon illuminating little more than the street before me.

My legs had instinctively taken me to the edge of the red light district, stopping in front of the door to Naruto’s home. I didn’t bother knocking, I entered through his window and made my way to his bed, I let out a soft breath once I saw him lying peacefully asleep, bandages covering his forehead. I carefully slipped out the way I had come in and quietly closed his window. I stilled as I felt the tip of a kunai press gently against my back.

“It’s not very polite to go breaking into someone’s house, Kagame.” The pressure from the kunai disappeared.

I whirled around and hissed, “Sensei! You’re the one who’s always breaking in to other people’s houses! So if anyone is to blame for my behavior, it’d be you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His eye closed in a smile as he knelt down to my level. “So what has my little minion breaking and entering at this hour?”

“I was just worried is all.” I huffed. “I… felt it, Gaara… he’s just like Naruto.”

“Ah.” Kakashi blinked at me and patted my head. “Well as you can see, Naruto is just fine. So how about you head back home.”

I hesitated as he stood up, sucking at my teeth. “What about Sasuke, and Ino for that matter?”

“They’re all fine, so you can go home and rest. No more arguments.”

 

The next day brought with it a funeral, my first real funeral. And as it turned out, I greatly misdressed for the occasion. So once I noticed the black ceremonial outfits everyone else had on, I dropped a genjutsu and slipped away from the crowd heading for the funeral area. I watched from up in the trees as they gathered in a crowd in front of the coffin. A somber mood resting around them. Countless faces were either stoic or dripping with snot and tears. The whole event seemed odd, and in a way, unnecessary.

There were seven pictures in total sitting before the crowd, the largest of which belonged to the Hokage. The rest were jounin level shinobi who I had never even seen before and they were very much largely ignored during the ceremony. But I guess it was still more than what the many dead chunin got. **They’re nothing more than names on a stone now.**

I found it hard to believe that so many people could actually care about old man third’s death. Sure he was the Hokage, but how many people here could have actually met the man outside of one of his speeches, let alone _know_ who he was as a person.

The branch next to me sagged as green and navy flashed into existence. “You know, there was a time where I thought you were the most well mannered of my students.”

“We don’t have these kind of things in Ginnome. Beast country as a whole sure, but even then it was different from this. I just… don’t really get it I guess. It seems so impersonal, all these people.”

 

It was strange, settling back into normalcy. The village was slowly but surely being rebuilt. Unlike the other genin teams, we had been spared from the rebuilding effort, instead being given time for training with Kakashi (though he was still perpetually late). Though I guess that’s one of the perks of being put on a team with the Nine tails host and the last Uchiha.

Today we had sparring. I had been pitted against Naruto for the first match. He moved a lot faster than what I was used to from him, but he was still incredibly sloppy. I ducked and weaved around him, striking out at his weak spots when the opportunity showed itself, but I never pushed the offensive. I wanted to draw out the fight for as long as could, it was the best way to make things interesting. I could have beaten him early on if I had wanted to, but the longer the fight dragged on, the more difficult it became for me. Not only did Naruto improve as the fight went on, leaving less openings for me to find, but he didn’t seem to tire out either, unlike me. After 20 minutes he finally had me beat.

I switched out with Sasuke, taking a seat next to Kakashi as Naruto’s grin widened. He didn’t move any faster than he had in our fight, but I could tell that Naruto’s hits had more force behind them, causing something inside me to stir. _He was going easy on me._

**_We’re supposed to be stronger than him._ **

_He trained with Jiraiya of the legendary Sannin. He beat Neji and Gaara, is it so hard to believe he’s gotten strong._

I could feel her lips tug down into a frown. I shook my head, pressing in on my yoki to quiet her down, yet couldn’t help my own frown from forming as well. _The two of them have progressed so far already, what if they do make chunin?_

I turned to my left, staring at Kakashi as he read his orange garbage. “Did you want to ask me something, or are you just going to keep glaring at me?”

I smoothed out my expression into something more neutral. “I wasn’t glaring… Sensei, what does it mean to be a shinobi?”

He lowered his book just enough to arch an eyebrow at me.

“I already know what it means to me, I’m asking what it means to you.” I clarified.

“Hm…… It means fulfilling my duty to the village. To keep its people and those important to me safe. Even at the cost of my own life.”

“Ok. Thank you sensei.”

Kakashi grunted, returning his attention to his book as Sasuke caught Naruto’s leg and threw him.

Uncomfortable with the silence, I decided to try and keep the conversation going, as it seemed like the boys’ fight would keep going for a while. “So why aren’t we doing a mission? There are more D-ranks than ever right now, so…”

“I’m just trying to keep my bosses happy, when their happy, they don’t bother me.”

“Bosses? I thought the Hokage was your boss?”

“The elder council is also my boss. They serve as the Hokage’s advisors and without him around to keep them in check, they’ve grown a bit too bold. They want to ensure your team is growing quickly in terms of skill.”

“So, is one of them gonna be the next Hokage?” I asked.

“Well… It’s a rather heavy hat. Even they recognize that. Except for maybe one. But they’ve decided to try and pressure Jiraiya into the job.”

“They’re gonna put pervy sage in charge?!” I asked incredulously.

Naruto’s head snapped in our direction, distracting him long enough for Sasuke to aim a kick at his midsection, driving out the air in Naruto’s lungs as he skidded across the training grounds.

 

I stood across from Sasuke, his eyes shining sharingan red. He made the first move, he was ridiculously fast. I barely had time to block, the force from the hit knocking me backwards. Sasuke seemed to take this into account as he shifted into the generic academy style, making his next strike not nearly as fast or with as much force behind it. My expression soured as I pumped chakra into my limbs. _Don’t look down on me._

I failed to hit him, not only that, but he didn’t strike at me even though he had the perfect opportunity as I slid right past him. I pivoted around and tried to sweep his legs. He jumped up and landed behind me, again, no counter attack. I grit my teeth and swung around, he ducked underneath my arm and still he did nothing, just looking at me with those eyes, spinning lazily. I struck down and he grabbed my arm, flipping me over his back. He turned and looked down at me lying on the ground, red fading to black and offered me his hand.

_He didn’t need to try at all._

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and accepted his hand, I was surprised by his strength as he hoisted me up with little effort.

 

The rest of the week continued much the same, with me putting more chakra into my limbs with each day, trying to keep up with my team. When training ended for the day I would continue by myself, push ups, sit ups, runs around the village perimeter, depleting my stamina and chakra to do it all again the next day.

**_They’re going to leave you behind, and you won’t be able to do anything about it. You’re powerless to stop them. You will never be able to keep anything you hold dear. You’re absolutely pathetic._ **

 

Our team had the day off, so I was taking a break to refamiliarize myself with the village. I was having a difficult time finding where the new market stalls were set up when I came across team ten. Ino was excitedly talking about how glad she was to finally be done placing roof tiles as Choji munched on a steamed bun. Shikamaru was trailing behind, slouched over and yawning. Before I knew it I had walked in front of his path, blocking him from going after his team. He glanced up at me before straightening, a frown tugging at the edge of his mouth.

“Troublesome.” he muttered.

I reached into my weapons pouch and pulled out my- _his_ academy handbook. “I’m sorry.”

He arched an eyebrow at me.

“I shouldn’t have taken this from you, but I did anyway. I was mad and- it’s no excuse, I shouldn’t have taken it.”

He brushed past me, leaving the book in my hand. “Keep it, I never even touched the thing.”

I felt a lump form in my throat and turned around, watching as he lazily strolled away, not even sparing a look back at me. I hugged the book close to my chest, the faint smell of winterberry tickling my nose.

**_Even if he risked his life for your team, he does not care for you in the slightest._ **

 

Today was different. We were using training ground 14, which was actually inside of the village proper. It was an enclosed area on top of a rooftop in the Bunkyo District. Naruto and I watched as Sasuke collected lightning, brilliant and blue, into his hands, emitting a sound like countless chirping birds. Naruto gushed about how cool the jutsu was, demanding Kakashi teach it to him.

Sasuke leaned against a pole, breathing heavily as Naruto and Kakashi entered the fenced off area. I watched in amusement as Naruto immediately copied Sasuke’s stance from earlier, clutching his hand as he began grunting. Looking intently at his open palm as if electricity would immediately spark to life.

I glanced back to Sasuke, he seemed more aloof than normal recently. He kept shooting Naruto these looks when he and Kakashi weren’t looking. He was angry.

**_Why should he be angry, what of us?_ **

“Sasuke.”

He turned to look at me, the anger from his eyes fading. “Hn.”

“Naruto’s told me a lot of what happened, but… the fight with Gaara… why did you go after him?”

“Because I wanted to fight him.” It was a simple line of thought, and yet it was one I couldn’t understand.

“I was scared.” He looked surprised when I said it. “I sensed his chakra, it was terrifying. The hate and anger and bloodlust. I could feel it clear across the village. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to actually be there next to him when it happened. I never would have seen anything human in him, not like Naruto.”

“So you think I should have killed him.” His gaze was intense, searching for something on my face.

“I didn’t say that. I can’t know if Naruto was right or wrong. I just know how I felt.”

A silence fell over us as I watched Naruto flail his arm around. “So where were you?”

I glanced back at Sasuke, still looking at me intently. “Kakashi had sent me home before the invasion happened. I had wanted to do… something, but I got carried away to evac. Literally carried. By that woman from the second exam, Anko.” _I couldn’t help anyone._

**_Useless._ **

 

**Sasuke pov**

He was afraid. He was afraid of Gaara. When I was scared in Wave, when I was scared in the forest, he didn’t bat an eye. He tried to ground me, to help me, but Gaara, the only one I hadn’t been afraid of, made Kagame scared.

 

I stepped foot into the Uchiha district for the fourth time that day, anxiety sinking it’s claws into my heart. _I need to get this over with._

I continued forward until I made it to the Naka Shrine. _Just a few more blocks to my house, I can do this._ My legs got heavier with every step, my heart hammering in my chest. _I’m almost there, I can do this. I have to. I-_

 

_Mother and Father, they didn’t have to die._

 

I stopped dead in my tracks, taking quick, shallow breaths and turned around, shoving my shaking hands in my pockets. _Damnit._

 

I went up to one of the roofs in the village proper, one that acted as a sort of park. It had a rooftop garden and trees on it, along with curled in white stones that reminded me of a ribcage. I laid back and stared at the sky as clouds floated past, the shaking in my arms stopping as I rested my head on them. I breathed in deeply and tried to calm my heart.

_I remember Kagame and Shikamaru used to watch the clouds back in the academy. I wonder what they saw when they looked up at the sky. What was so enjoyable about it that they kept doing it everyday?_

A hawk flew overhead, circling the area as it warbled. _Kakashi, what does he want? He didn’t schedule training today._

 

It was… strange to see Kakashi waiting there for me. I hadn’t seen him arrive first anywhere since Wave. “It’s not like you to show up first, what gives?”

“Well, sometimes I do.” I glanced behind him as he said that. On one of the tables was a plate of dango and two cups of steaming hot tea. He then nodded to the two shinobi accompanying him and they vanished. _Something else is going on here._


	38. Akatsuki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itachi and Kisame show up to start some trouble

“596… 597… 598…”

My arms gave out from under me and I collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily as I stared off to the side, trees as far as I could see.

“Dammit… I almost made it that time.”

**_You can do better than this…_ **

I laid there for several minutes as beads of sweat rolled down my face. The humidity of Konoha summers always made me prefer the indoors during this time of year, but with the gap between me and my team, I couldn’t afford to waste any time that could be put towards training.

**_Accept me, and you’ll have all the strength you need._ **

I sat up slowly, grimacing as my sweat soaked shirt clung to me awkwardly and wiped my face down with my yukata.

_They’re my friends, even when they’re chunin that won’t change. If I work my ass off, then I can make chunin too in six months, and then we can work together on missions again, real missions too, not D-ranks._

I tied my yukata around my waist and collected my things.

**_Your team used their gifts to advance, the sharingan and the nine tails. It only seems fair for you to use yours. You could have made it to the finals as well, if you hadn’t stopped my jutsu. You’re the only one holding yourself back._ **

I ignored her, continuing my walk back towards the village gates when movement caught my eye. I passed through the foliage to the main road to see Sasuke running at full speed.

_What’s he up to in such a hurry?_

**_Follow him and find out._ **

I frowned, unhappy that we were on the same page; pumping chakra into my legs, I chased after him, ignoring the soreness in my muscles.

 

**Sasuke pov**

_Itachi has returned. Why. Why now. Why Naruto._

“Sasuke!”

I glanced over my shoulder to see Kagame was racing after me.

_Shit._

“Go back to the village!”

He winced at my tone, but kept following after me.

“Whatever’s going on, I can help.”

“You’ll only get in my way.” I bit out.

His eyes widened before his mouth twisted into a frown. “You don’t know that.”

“You’ll die!”

“Well then I don’t know that! But I’m still on your team Sasuke!” _Why are you being so damn stubborn._

“Just go home… please.”

His face softened as he spoke, “Just tell me what’s going on.”

I came to a stop, Kagame skidding to a halt a few feet behind me. I turned around, letting the sharingan fade as I stepped towards him, carefully.

“It’s the man from that night. I know where he is.” He stared at me in confusion before realization dawned in his eyes. “So you understand why I have to go.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t help you, if he’s that strong then-” I cut him off, just as he started reaching out for me. I moved behind him and knocked him out, setting him down under a tree away from the main road.

“ _I’m sorry._ ” I whispered.

 

**Kagame pov**

“ **Phantom’s Mirage.** ” I released my jutsu once Sasuke had gotten far enough away, picking up my yukata from under the tree he had left it under and dropped a notice-me-not genjutsu around myself, hoping I could maintain it long enough to be of help. I followed after him, using chakra to soften the sound of my footsteps, just in case. _I’m sorry too, Sasuke, but I can’t let you do this by yourself._

It was rather easy to follow his scent trail, last night's rain and the heavy mist from earlier that morning had washed away the scents of anyone else who might have traveled through the area, leaving only a few easily discernible trails left. My eyes widened as I picked out the smell of ramen.

“Naruto.” _Why the hell would he be out here?_ I pushed more chakra into my protesting muscles as a town came into view in the distance.

A wicked cackle sounded off in my head as I entered the town, a familiar pressure resting at the base of my skull. **_The nine tails._ **

It was gone in just a split second, the hot bubbling chakra that bordered on yoki, slipping away into nothing. I was drawn towards it immediately, I ran in the direction I had sensed it from, entering a nearby hotel and rushing up the stairwell, Naruto’s scent getting stronger with every step, accompanied by another, no two of them, one smelling of raw fish, and the other smelling of blood and flames.

The first thing I saw upon entering the hallway was the bright orange of Naruto’s jumpsuit, the second was two men wearing black cloaks with red clouds. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, my heart pounding in my ears. **_Do you remember yet?_ **

I unconsciously took a step backwards, two sets of eyes now on me, beady and black, and sharingan red. _But only Kakashi and Sasuke should have those eyes. The rest of the Uchiha died… unless… they were killed from the inside._

My lips parted before I could think better of it. “You’re the one who killed the Uchiha.”

“Today’s your unlucky day, kid.” The man with eyes black and beady, skin blue with a texture like sandpaper, leered down at me. His face broke into a smile, showing off a row of jagged teeth as he lifted his bandaged sword. **_I remember just fine._ **

“It’s been a long time,” the blue man stopped in his tracks at the Uchiha's soft voice. “Sasuke.”

The sound of a hundred chirping birds erupted from across the hall, I peered around the blue man to see Sasuke holding lightning in his hand.

“I’ve lived all this time… to see you die, Itachi Uchiha!” Sasuke charged forward, lightning digging a trench through the wall as he came closer. “It ends here!”

In a move so fast I hardly had the time to register what happened, Sasuke stopped. His chidori blew a large hole through the wall big enough for a person to easily step through. His hand hanging limply in Itachi’s grip as lightning flickered out.  _The chidori is that powerful, and he stopped it with just one hand._

A surge of hot air burned against my side as pressure spread out along my skull. Red chakra engulfing Naruto’s form as once again the two sets of eyes were focused in our direction.

Sasuke let out a howl of pain and fell to the floor, clutching his hand as the blue man’s sword cut through the cloud of red chakra, something gurgling and squirming beneath the bandages as the pressure and heat dispersed.

Naruto looked up in horror as the man rasped, “Sorry kid, but my blade’s sharkskin cuts through chakra and absorbs it. Maybe I should forget about your legs and chop off those arms instead.” I moved without thinking, pushing yoki up from my gut, letting it sear my veins as I pushed Naruto behind me. **_Elegance._ **

I left an afterimage in my place and slid past as the man’s sword hit it, the image distorting as it was absorbed. I was yanked back by my hair, red eyes boring into my own.

“The sharingan can see through genjutsu, but I suppose you’re just as much a fool as my little brother.”

 **_Hermit purple._ ** Itachi released me as thorny vines became intertwined with my hair, and sent me flying with a kick to the abdomen. My initial flight was cut short when I slammed into the other man’s sword, jagged scales dug into my flesh and ate away at my yoki, squirming and shredding meat as it gargled angrily before I was sent the other way. I skidded across the floor, landing awkwardly on my arm, pain blooming across my body as I came to a stop. I took in quick, shallow breaths as I tried to get up, but I could feel the fatigue from the days training and beat down weigh heavily on my limbs.

I lifted my head to see the blue man about to strike at Naruto again as a cloud of smoke erupted in front of him. An armored frog stood between them, its metal clad limb holding back the man’s sword. And standing behind Naruto was the pervy sage… holding an unconscious woman over his shoulder. _I’m sure it looks worse than it actually is._

“You two should have done your homework. Jiraiya, the Gallant Toad Sage would never fall for such an obvious trap. I understand better than anyone the wiles of a woman. As you can see, Jiraiya falls for no woman’s charm, they fall for me!” _Oh gods, I hope Naruto isn’t actually listening to this guy’s shit. He’s a total tool! Not that, like, I’m not grateful he showed up, but… does he have to be like that?_

“Oh come on Pervy Sage! One wink from her and you turned into a pile of mush!” Naruto shouted, pointing accusingly.

“I wish you wouldn’t call me that in front of people.”

“We have bigger things to worry about than what these guys think about you, Pervy Sage!”

“And I told you not to call me that!”

“This childish old pervert is one of the Legendary Sannin? Forgive me if I find that a bit hard to believe.” The blue man sneered.

“Be that as it may, someone who uses their sharingan to rope an innocent civilian into their conflict is far more despicable. All this in order to separate Naruto from me. I know he’s the one you’re really after.” _I feel like I should be surprised to hear this, but…_

**_Do you remember the man with rippling eyes yet?_ **

“So that’s how Kakashi knew, he learned it from you.” Itachi paused. For a moment I felt as though maybe, time had simply stopped, there was almost no discernible movement from anyone present. “It’s true, Naruto is the prize the Akatsuki seek.” _That name, why does it sound so familiar?_

“This is very convenient then, I can eliminate you both at the same time.”

_Akatsuki…_

“Stay out of this.” Sasuke slowly got to his feet as Jiraiya set down the woman slung over his shoulder. “The only one… who’s going to eliminate him… is me!”

A ringing sound echoed through my head.

Sasuke rushed Itachi and was quickly kicked away, much like I was, and hit the wall behind me.

My vision began to blur.

“I already told you, I’ve spent my whole life waiting for this day, this moment.”

I could hear Naruto shouting in the background. I heard Sasuke hit the wall behind me again. I heard bells ringing in my ear. _Akatsuki…_

“I’m not finished.”

Footsteps getting closer.

I looked up, a blur of black and red approaching. I looked to the side a blur of black huddled by the wall.

_I…_

_“Y u    a  a  y  f   e Akatsuki.”_

_His voice was so smooth…_

_I can almost…_

_There was hot breath against my ear…_

_Warmth coursing through my body…_

_He smelled like rain…_

“Now, finally-”

_Sasuke?_

The smell of blood hit my nose as the world around me began to focus. More grunts of pain, the black and red blur moving just in front of me.

_I need to protect my friends!_

“ **Hermit purple: rosé.** ” Purple vines burst out of the ground, the black and red blur jumping back as the emerging vines herded him away.

I smirked and shakily rose to my feet. “You didn’t notice… when I slid across the floor… I poured my chakra into it… to set up this trap.” The vines thickened, weaving together to form a wall between us.

“Kagame! Dispel the jutsu, now!” Sasuke grabbed me by the shoulders, his grip bruising tight, his eyes angry and red, his voice leaking venom. “I’ve waited too long for this day! I won’t let anything stand in my way!” Spit landed on my face in small droplets as he hissed.

The ground beneath us shifted, became squishy, the air turning stagnant and foul, something thick and slimy dripped onto my head from the ceiling.

My head felt foggy, my limbs were like lead. Sasuke was still yelling at me, but it sounded like he was so far away, even though I could feel his hands clenched tightly against my skin.

My rosé faded, the bandaged sword cutting through it with ease, the two men running right past us. Sasuke released his iron grip, but didn’t run after them. I looked down and had enough clarity to realize our feet had sunken into the slimy, fleshy floor.

We spent hours like that, or maybe it was seconds… I couldn’t tell… but I didn’t need to, because I remember what my friend told me…

_“Do not worry about the Akatsuki.”_

_So of course I would do what he told me…_

_He was my friend…_

_I trusted him…_

_He felt so warm…_

_I leaned into the hand resting on my head…_

_Smelling rain…_

_“Shouldn’t you get back to your friend, Kagame-kun?”_

The fleshy ground was gone, Sasuke was yelling at Pervy Sage, demanding he get out of the way so he could run after Itachi.

My body didn’t feel so heavy anymore, but I was still tired. _I hope I can go to bed soon._

Naruto had a worried look on his face and… _when did Gai get here?_

 

It was quiet, awkward. Sasuke walked in front with Gai just a few feet behind him, talking as if he wasn’t the only thing keeping Sasuke from running off.

_Sasuke who refused to look at me… Sasuke who was mad that I got in his way… Sasuke who was mad he had to go back to the village while Naruto got to go on an adventure with one of the Legendary Sannin, _eve_ n if the man was a lame old pervert. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rosé is a variation of hermit purple that doesn't have to stay attached to Kagame for him to use it, he thought of it after the bell test when Kakashi used his own jutsu to pull him out of his hiding place in the trees, and then implemented the idea after Kakashi told him to refine his abilities during the interim period.


	39. Heavenly Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly a Sasuke-centric chapter dealing with the aftermath of Itachi's arrival.

It was different when we got back. Everything just… felt off.

We were brought before the elder council for debriefing, they were unnerving. They weren’t like old man third at all, there was no kindness resting in their eyes, there was the same air of solemnity about them sure, but that only served to put me more on edge. _I can see why Kakashi would want to keep them happy._ The most unnerving one of them was Councilman Shimura. The bandages and wrinkles on his face accentuated his scowl, making him look horribly dour. His one eye was fixed pointedly on Sasuke, ignoring my presence entirely. He and the others spoke almost exclusively to Sasuke and Gai, as far as they were concerned I was just his civilian teammate, roped into something I didn’t understand.

 _But I did understand, better than Sasuke even. I understood that Naruto was the nine tails host._ But I didn’t speak up _, because my friend told me not to worry about the Akatsuki, so clearly they weren’t important enough to garner the attention of the elder council. They should be dealing with more important matters, the village was in a state of emergency and required them to oversee matters until a new hokage could be selected._ Though I felt there was something wrong with that line of thought, I couldn’t pin down what, so I ignored it, listening intently on what everyone else was saying.

Gai was nervous, the boisterous man stumbling over his words, shoulders hunched, glancing side to side nervously.

Sasuke kept his replies brief, speaking in a cold, clipped tone. It was incredibly disrespectful, it made Gai even more nervous. But Sasuke was the last Uchiha, or rather the last loyal Uchiha, so he’s valuable to the village in a way most genin are not. And that was more than abundantly clear when the council handed down their verdict.

We would not be punished for our actions.

**_Because if they punished you, then they would have to punish Sasuke as well._ **

Instead, Gai would be the one held responsible as he was supposed to stop Sasuke from leaving the village; he had been the one present when Sasuke had found out about Itachi’s return and had also failed to defeat Kisame when he had confronted the duo within the village.

So we were temporarily assigned to participate in D-ranks with team eight. Which meant reconstruction. _It literally can’t be as bad as my E-rank though._

 

We met with team eight at a construction site in the village, bright and early. I had slept great the night before, too tired from everything that happened to keep my eyes open for long. So I was full of energy, ready to take on the day of work ahead of us. _Kind of anyway._

Team eight seemed rather nice. Shino and Hinata were quiet for the most part, as was their sensei, _who actually helped out on the mission unlike another jounin I know_. Kiba on the other hand was loud and aggressive, but he didn’t seem like a bad guy. They all worked well with one another as well, something I only saw in my own team when we were in mortal danger.

Sasuke… didn’t talk to me. He didn’t look at me the entire time. _But I guess I had stolen his dream._

**_By saving his fucking life._ **

But I didn’t mind. Just like I didn’t mind in the academy, when all we did was sit next to one another. I was just happy he was there. I used to pretend that he was my friend. So I pretended now as well, because I didn’t know if he still was my friend. I didn’t know if when he finally did look at me, if it would look like the glare he gave Naruto. So I pretended everything was the same and I gave my best fake smile.

**_Our clan was always good at pretending to be something we’re not._ **

 

**Sasuke pov**

Kiba was loud… He ordered his team around, assigning everyone jobs for the day to divide the work up. It was surprisingly smart, I had always thought he was an idiot like Naruto, but I guess he was a bit more like Shikamaru, in that he found the academy to be a waste of his time. Because here he was, taking charge and devising a plan to get things done more efficiently. Of course, since we were working with them, his orders carried over to me as well, but I didn’t feel like biting back. I didn’t give a shit about him being in charge, which evidently pissed him off. He wanted to start a fight with me, that much was obvious, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of rising to the bait. I focused on the mission and did the job I was assigned, clearing rubble. It was hard work, tedious, a waste of my time, but it was necessary so everyone else could have the space to do their own work, and Kakashi was in the hospital so it wasn’t like I could just leave to go training with him.

I was loading up a cart with broken wood and plaster, stealing looks at Kagame every now and then. Only when he wasn’t looking, though. Kiba was delivering supplies to him as he used his hermit purple to lift them up to Shino and Hinata who were almost done removing the old wooden planks from the second floor of the building we were working on.

We broke for lunch when I had finished wheeling the last of the rubble away. Kiba decided we would eat barbecue. Kurenai was nice enough to pay for all of us, including Kagame and I. Something Kakashi never did when we were at Ichiraku. I couldn’t help but wonder if she did this frequently or if she was just trying to be nice after what happened yesterday.

I looked up at Kagame, who was chatting idly with Hinata. It wasn’t anything interesting, he’d ask how things were going with her training, how she was recovering from her fight with Neji, nothing overtly personal, just being polite. Shino would add a comment every now and then, often times being interrupted by Kiba, whose mouth was stuffed with pork.

He was settling in seamlessly. He flashed a smile here, nodded there, even laughed when Kiba nearly choked while regaling the table with his supposed heroics on their first C-rank. He ate slowly, carefully, taking measured bites when eyes weren’t on him, but took bigger bites, more frequent bites when more than one set was looking his way.

Our eyes met across the table. He flashed his teeth, his eyes briefly closing. I felt my chopsticks bend under my grip, I set them down and looked away. Kurenai arched an eyebrow at me, but said nothing and continued eating.

Kagame’s smile, _his real smile_ , was a bit like Kurenai’s, it was soft, subtle. It wasn’t hesitant like Hinata, cocky like Kiba, self assured like Shikamaru, airy like the Yamanaka girl, or too wide and bright like Naruto. But Kagame always smiled like that. Always focused on the mission. Always polite with the client. And (mostly) patient with the rest of our team. Even when Naruto and I fought. Even when Kakashi took out his trashy novel and lounged about, or left altogether. Even when we screwed up and the client got mad at us.

And he was still trying to be like that now. He was trying to smooth things over between the two of us. But that smile he wore now was fake, he was trying too hard: too many teeth, eyes closed, upturned at the right side, but flat on the left. It didn’t come with any sort of ease like normal. _I can’t just pretend that everything can go back to normal. I’m still too far away from my goal, I need to catch up with Itachi, I need to surpass him, and I can’t do that like this._

 

I didn’t go home that day. Instead, I was at the gates of the old compound again. But it wasn’t like all my other trips here since that dread filled day. I wasn’t trying to confront old ghosts, I needed to know what Itachi wanted me to see, needed to see it now while the fire in my belly still burned bright with hate. Before Kagame could stop pretending everything was fine, before Naruto could come back and pick back up with another stupid fight, before Kakashi could wake up and play at being our sensei. I needed to do this before they could pull me away, before I could begin to forget and think things could change.

 

_In the Naka shrine main hall, underneath the seventh tatami mat on the right side, you’ll learn the truth of our family._

 

_I can’t even begin to imagine what truth that lunatic was talking about, but I have to know. I have to know because I still can’t understand him, I can’t understand why he did it._

I slowly opened the doors to the shrine, hinges squeaking as light poured into the main hall for the first time in five years. I yanked off my shoes at the entrance, the air inside was musty, particles of dust dancing through the air as I counted the mats on the floor. _Seven._

I walked over to the seventh mat carefully, trying to move as silently as possible, as though the shrine maiden could still walk in and catch me at any moment. I traced the line between it and the other mats. The generous layer of dust coating the floor served to make it almost painfully obvious that there was a hidden door underneath. I tossed the mat aside, kicking up a thick cloud of dust, and reached for the door, pausing as fingers wrapped around the handle. _I have to know, I have to finish this, it’s my responsibility._ I sucked in a deep breath through clenched teeth and tore the door open, revealing a set of stairs descending into darkness.

I took one of the candles lining the shrine walls and lit it with a small fire jutsu and began my descent. The underground air was much cooler than the hot breath of summer, though instead of being refreshing it only served to add to the dread I was feeling. My eyes raked over the stone gray walls, they gave no indication for how deep the stairs were leading me. The steps beneath my feet dropped in temperature until they felt ice cold.

When the steps finally came to an end I was met with a stone wall. There didn’t appear to be anything special about it at first glance, it was just as smooth and cold as the rest of the chamber. _But this shrine was built by Uchiha_. I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of my breathing echoing through the stairwell, my heart beating against my ribcage, wanting to break free. The weight on my lids felt incredible, as though part of me knew that if I opened them, that I couldn’t go back, I wouldn’t be able to return to my life as it was before. _But if I don’t do this now, I know that I’ll regret it_.

Heat burned against my hand, my eyes snapped open, sharingan awakened. Hot wax quickly cooled against the skin of my hand, the candle lying on the ground, flame snuffed out, a faint blue flickering against the periphery of my vision. I peeled off the hardened wax and turned back to the wall. Thin blue lines criss-crossing against stone, all converging on one point in the center. I gingerly placed my palm against it, feeling a faint pulse of warmth, tickling my skin. I gathered my chakra and released a pulse of my own, blue lines glowing brighter, forming a replica of a sharingan as stone shifted out from under my hand, a large doorway opening in front of me. Flames erupted from sconces lining the walls, revealing a stone tablet sitting on a pedestal.

Blood rushed to my head, roaring loudly, as my body automatically moved to stand in front of the pedestal, sweat beading on skin despite the cold air of the chamber. I brushed my hand against the tablet, feeling the dips and grooves engraved into it. My sharingan fervently scanning over it, a mess of gibberish and broken sentences, meaning indecipherable, until…

 

**To awaken the heavenly eyes that see the truth of all of creation without obstruction,**

**bring witness to sorrow and hatred of dear friends death.**

  


 


	40. Hello Sensei

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagame needs to talk with someone, so he picks someone who has no choice.

“Hello Sensei.”

…

“So…”

…

“The weather sure is nice today…”

…

“Okay, yeah, it might be a little hot.”

…

“And humid”

…

“And the sun is an oppressive asshole.”

…

“I know, I know, language.”

…

“The sky is beautiful though.”

  
  


 

“Good morning sensei!”

…

“I mean, yeah, if you wanna get technical about it, it is actually afternoon.”

…

“Team eight is nice.”

…

“You know? Kurenai’s team?”

…

“She’s the one who’s eyes look like Sasuke’s.”

…

“Like his sharingan, I mean.”

…

“We’ve been doing D-ranks with them.”

  
  


 

“Hey, you!”

…

“What’s up?”

…

“I don’t know why I asked you.”

…

“You’re not gonna answer or anything, and if you did it would actually be really scary, like I would probably scream.”

…

  
  


 

“It’s been kind of hard lately.”

…

“I know you said that your team is like family…”

…

“But I don’t really have anyone to talk to.”

  
  


 

“Naruto left with pervy sage, since you probably didn’t hear. I mean why would you have, you can’t go anywhere. And you were already here before that. So yeah.”

…

“I know that I’m supposed to call him Lord Jiraiya, but…”

…

“He’s just so…”

…

“Lame.”

…

“They’re going out to look for Lady Tsunade.”

…

“I heard she can heal you.”

…

“I hope she isn’t a weirdo loser like Jiraiya, or a creepy asshole like Orochimaru.”

  
  


 

“Sasuke’s been different.”

…

“Everything has been different.”

……………… 

“I’m afraid.”

  
  


 

“The only bright side of this whole thing is that I always know where you are now.”

…

“You literally can’t be late to anything because I’m the one who has to come to you.”

…

“It makes scheduling so much easier.”

  
  


 

“I don’t know what I’m doing.”

……

“I feel like I’m stuck in place.”

…

“I’m supposed to be strong, I was born to be strong, on a level that’s higher than everyone else.” I laughed, a hollow sound devoid of mirth.

…

“That’s why we’re born, to be strong, to serve our purpose.”

…

“To be something greater than human, and yet somehow beneath them at the same time.”

………

“If you aren’t strong enough, you die. That’s it. That’s what I was told for my first six years. That we would be the latest in a long line of warriors serving as the barrier between humanity and extinction..” 

…

“Those off us who survive initiation anyway.”

……… 

Tears welled up in my eyes, spilling down my cheeks. “I’m the last one left though.”

…

“And I’m weak.”

…

“There were so many that were stronger than me, so why is it that I’m alive and they aren’t?”

……

“How am I supposed to know what to do?”

……

  
  


 

“Iruka once told us that the skill level of you and your opponent didn’t matter. Whoever got the drop first won. Someone weak could kill someone much stronger if they were smart about it. It goes against everything we were told in beast country. Power was the sole decider in all things.”

…

“Sometimes, I think that’s still true though. I can see the gap between me and my team, it’s crazy how fast they grew in just a month. How strong is Naruto gonna be when he comes back?”

…

  
  


 

“I think I messed up.”

…………………………

“Sasuke and I aren’t talking. Which, yeah I know, he doesn’t really talk that much, but it’s different now. Ever since we…” 

_ Red clouds. _

“Sorry, I got distracted there for a minute.”

…

“Since we saw his brother, he hasn’t even looked at me.”

…

“I’m afraid that I ruined our friendship, that he’s gonna start glaring at me like he was with Naruto.”

…

  
  


 

“I don’t have a lot friends.”

…

“Probably more than you, but it’s not a competition.”

………

“I already lost Shikamaru before.” My chest tightened just thinking about it.

… 

“So I don’t want to lose anyone else either.”

…

“And you said our team is like family.”

…

“I heard recently that you never form the same kind of bonds with other teams you’re put on later in life, you know when you’re chunin and jounin, and special forces and stuff. So like, that… backs up your claim.”

…

“So what I’m saying is… I don’t want to mess this up, but I don’t know what to do about it.”

  
  


 

“Sasuke’s gotten even more distant recently, I don’t know how that’s even possible, but he has.”

……………………………………

“It’s my fault, I know it is.”

……………………………………………………………

“What the hell was I supposed to do!” I stood up, knocking the chair I had been sitting in onto the floor. “Was I just supposed to let him get himself killed! He was being stupid, just charging in without any regard for his own life!” 

……………………………………

“This is stupid. I’m yelling at a man who might as well be a corpse himself.” I propped the chair back up and sat down, cradling my head in my hands as a tightness took hold in my chest. I took in deep breaths and tried to center myself.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

“I’m okay now.” I dropped my hands into my lap and peered up at Kakashi. He didn’t look right without his headband and his hair looked too normal without its usual gravity defying nature.

  
  


 

“Sensei!”

…

“I brought flowers today!” I removed the handful of flowers I had been holding behind my back and placed them in the vase by Kakashi’s bed.

“Ino helped me pick them out, she was the Yamanaka girl I was with at the final exam. Anyway, they’re zinnias, red poppies, and forget-me-nots. She told me they meant ‘remembering absent friends.’ So I thought they would be perfect. This way when you wake up, you’ll know that we were thinking about you this whole time.”

…………

“Um, anyway. Thank you. You’ve given me the courage to decide that I’m going to talk to Sasuke.” I bowed before turning my back to leave, pausing at the doorway. “Goodbye Sensei, I’ll see you when you wake up.”


	41. At your side and by your heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagame lets his feelings be known.

**Sasuke pov**

“ **Chidori** ” I thrust my hand through the stone in front of me for the third time that day. Rock exploded around me as the lightning in my hand faded away. I grinned at the sizable hole I had left behind, sides heaving from exertion. As I was admiring my handiwork the sound of clattering rocks drew my attention. I spun around to find Kagame standing behind me with a hard to read expression resting on his face, a poorly fit mask of indifference.

“It really is an impressive jutsu, stronger than anything I could cast. It would have had no problem cutting through my rosé.” His tone lacked any inflection at all, it reminded me too much of the other Kagame from the forest. But judging from his eyes, this was still the Kagame I knew.

“Why are you here?”

“I want…” A crack in his mask, “I want to tell you that I’m not here to apologize, because I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I didn’t ask for an apology.” I bit out.

He winced at my tone, but quickly wrangled his emotions back in. “Then what do you want?”

“I wanted to kill Itachi!” I couldn’t help but to bare my teeth at saying his name.

“He was going to kill you!” He dropped the mask entirely, eyebrows knitting together as his mouth pulled into a frown.

“It was my fight and you had no right to intervene!”

“Do you think this is like the exam!? That these are one on one fights?” He stepped forward.

“He killed my family! Took everything that I had just because he could!” The muscles in my back tightened as I grit my teeth.

His face softened as he took another step forward. “Sasuke.”

“Don’t! I’ve spent the last five years training for this, thinking of nothing else, how many more do I have to wait now until I can kill that bastard?!”

“You’re still a genin, even if you’ve gotten a lot stronger, even if they promote you to chunin, you don’t have the experience yet to fight someone like him. I wasn’t just gonna sit by and watch him kill my friends!” He flinched back suddenly and turned his head to the side, refusing to look at me.

“I didn’t ask for your help, I told you to stay out of it and let me handle him!”

He turned around completely, hand coming to rub at his forehead. “Shit… I just… fuck.” He muttered. “I… I just…” He sat down on the ledge of the cliff overlooking the canyon below us, taking in several deep breaths before whispering, “I… I wanted to… I… sorry.”

“What?”

“I said I’m sorry, you asshole!”

“I thought you didn’t come here to apologize.”

“I didn’t, and I don’t want to!” He turned his head, just enough for me to catch the corner of his eye, tears glistening, threatening to spill over at any moment. “But I didn’t want to hurt you either, I know how much it means to you and… Shit.” Kagame turned his back to me again, drawing his knees up to his chest.

“You can’t understand how I feel! You don't know anything about me! Don't pretend you understand just because you were the one to find me that day!”

“I understand things a lot better than everyone thinks! You’re angry and hurt and confused. You miss your family. They were all so much stronger than you and yet you’re the only one left, and you couldn’t do anything to save anyone, and it’s not fucking fair!” I stumbled back at the outburst. “So believe me when I say that I understand.” His arms were wrapped around his legs tightly, knuckles white from the pressure.

I felt chakra pulse into my eyes, sharingan flaring as I stepped forward. “You can’t just come here and say things like that.” _How the hell can you know what I’m feeling? How can you know all that and still stand in my way?_

 

**Bring witness to sorrow and hatred of dear friends death.**

 

I stopped, just a few steps away from him, watching, chest expanding and compressing.

It would be so easy. So easy to get the power I need. To strengthen my sharingan, to unlock the same power Itachi had. To finally have the strength to kill him.

Lightning flickered at my fingertips.

“Please don’t hate me.” The lightning flickered out, shame pooling in my gut. “Please.”

I turned my back on his curled up form, clutching my hand tightly as the anger melted away, the clarity from my sharingan fading. “I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, so why are you acting so stupid.”  _I wish that I could hate you, then I wouldn't have even thought…_

Kagame’s laugh came out strangled and hollow, “I’m a member of team seven, every one of us is a stupid, stubborn jackass, even me.”

“Tch. I guess I can’t argue with that.”  _I feel like a jackass too right now._

We sat there in silence for several minutes before Kagame spoke again. “You’re my friend. So I can’t just stand back and do nothing. After all, someone needs to make sure you’re still around to achieve your other goal.”

“Other goal?” _What the hell are you talking about?_

“To restore your clan, right? You can’t do that if you die taking down Itachi.”

“Why are you trying so hard to help me?” I spun around to see him standing there resolute, a determined gleam in his eyes.

“I already told you, you’re my friend.” He held out his hand, fingers forming half of the reconciliation seal, waiting for me.

“Well as my friend, I can’t let you do that. Itachi is my responsibility. As the last Uchiha, I have to be the one to defeat him.” Nevertheless, I still formed the other half of the seal, intertwining my fingers with his. “But I’ll wait a little longer before the next time.”

“I guess I can accept that. Until then, I’ll be here standing at your side.” A smile bloomed across his face as our hands fell back to our sides.

"Thank you." Silver eyes widened, surprise etched onto his face.  _Even if it makes things harder, I can't stoop to Itachi's level. I can beat him with my sharingan just as they are._

Kagame covered his mouth, snickering softly. Once he had composed himself, he rested his hand on his chest. "So long I possess this human heart, I shall be your comrade." Seeing my confusion he elaborated, "It's a saying from my old clan, spoken only between those warriors who you trusted most." Pain lanced through my own chest at the admission. 

_Your genin teams will be like your family._

The unspoken meaning of his words were not lost on me. It was something every academy student had been told upon graduation.


	42. Forge your bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some filler stuff with Kagame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals are approaching and I wrote this instead of doing school stuff.

_I was laying on a metal table, goosebumps raised upon my naked flesh where it made contact with the cold surface. Leather straps dug into my wrists and ankles as I stared up at the blinding light shining on my face._

_I wondered if this light is what the sun would look like?_

_Doors creaking, water running, footsteps echoing against stone flooring. A man in black stared down at me, his eyes hidden by dark glasses, mouth covered by a surgical mask. He lacked any sort of hair or identifying features, his skin translucent, lacking any pigment that might suggest he had ever seen the sun either. His voice had a musical lilt to it._

_“Do you promise to give yourself body and soul to our clan? To use our power as you are told?”_

_It wasn’t a question, there was only one answer. “I do.”_

_If I could see his face, I would imagine him with a twisted smile containing too many teeth. “Even if it means you will lose your own humanity?”_

_“Of course.” I knew what to expect, we all did. We were never considered human to begin with._

_He pressed a gloved hand onto my stomach, fingers pressing into soft flesh uncomfortably. “You won’t be able to go back.”_

_“I know.”_

_“You can never kill a human being.” His hand retreated as he turned to examine the tray of tools waiting at the side._

_“I would never dream of it.”_

_He returned his attention to me, knife in hand. “Let’s get started, shall we?”_

_He pressed the blade into me as his free pressed firmly against my chest. I had no way of suppressing the screams as he methodically cut through skin and muscle. He slipped his fingers inside the incision and began to pull, pain ripping through me as he tore me apart. I couldn’t hear my screams any longer, though I could still feel them escape my throat as burning fire spread across every nerve in my body._

 

My eyes snapped open, the painted image of the black moon staring back down at me. Sweat soaked skin shivering against the cool night air. I swallowed thickly as yoki roiled within, heat bubbling and lashing out angrily. My hands fisted in sheets, toes curling, muscles tensing, breath deep and uneven.

Despite it all, I could still feel sleep pulling my eyelids down.

“I lied.” The whispered words were swallowed by the darkness.

**_I lied too._ **

 

The sun was just barely rising over the horizon as I woke. I settled into my morning stretches, it was amazing how much looser I felt since talking with Sasuke, I hadn’t even been aware of just how much tension I had been carrying in my back over the whole thing. I leaned in deeper than I had been able for the past two weeks, loud popping sounding from the vertebrae in my spine. _Damn that’s good._

 

It was around seven when I arrived at the training grounds, I nodded politely to Shino who had already claimed a spot under one of the many trees surrounding the field. I didn’t have to wait that much longer before Sasuke showed up, hands shoved in his pockets.

“Hey.” I greeted.

“Hey yourself.”

 _Well that’s a big helping of deja vu. Except I’m Shikamaru in this case and Sasuke is me._ Though of course I had chosen not to comment on the exchange, as I didn’t really know how to tell him the conversation was off to a very bad start because of my own stupid feelings about a boy that I can’t even quantify with words. I must have been making a face though as Sasuke arched a thin brow at me.

“Um… Shikamaru and I… I mean, I said that to him, so…” I fumbled, any semblance of coherence totally escaping my grasp.

But it appeared Sasuke understood at least, as he replied with, “Ah.”

I sighed internally, _so we’re back to monosyllabic responses then._

I wa almost grateful when Kiba burst into the clearing with Akamaru hot on his trail, whooping loudly and fist pumping. “You guys aren’t gonna believe this! We’re finally getting a mission!”

“Actually I do believe it, why? Because on our official transcripts the reconstruction effort has counted towards exactly-” Shino was cut off when Kiba let out an exasperated groan.

“No! This is a real mission I’m talking about here, not some stupid D-rank!”

“How did you find that out?” I asked.

“He heard it from me.” Kurenai and Hinata stepped out into the clearing at a more sedate pace.

Hinata pressed her fingertips together, stuttering, “M-my doctor, h-he gave me the all clear for full time duties.”

“So to celebrate we’re all gonna take a C-rank!” Kiba shouted, leaping into the air as Akamaru ran circles around him, yipping cheerfully.

“So when do we leave?” Sasuke asked.

“That’s the thing…” Kurenai began. “Only team eight has been sanctioned for this mission.” Sasuke’s expression soured at that. “But, our estimated return is in five days. If Naruto hasn’t returned by then, I can put in an appeal to the elder council for you to join our next mission. Until then, there’s always D-ranks available, or you could get in some training together.”

 

We went the D-rank route. But with just the two of us a lot of the missions were taken off the table, so we got saddled with looking for that damn cat, Torra.

“There are a lot of cat smells around here.” I rubbed under my nose as Sasuke began peering into the nearby shrubbery, hoping the little demon would make things easy on us at least once.

“Do you think you can help narrow it down?”

I stalked the forest floor, mouth parted as I inhaled deeply. “Ughhh… aside from _many separate generic cat smells_ , there’s not much else but grass and flowers… and something minty?”

“Minty?”

“Mmm… Yeah? Definitely minty. Why? Do you think it might be important?”

Sasuke retreated from the bushes and huffed, “If you can smell it then the cat can, so we might as well follow it.”

After a few minutes of walking we were confronted with an odd sight. Several cats were lounging around a flowering plant with green and white leaves.

“Sasuke, what exactly am I looking at right now?”

“It’s silver vine, one of my cousins used to grow it around the Uchiha compound for their cats. They like the smell, it makes them…” He picked up Torra from one of the piles of dozing cats, and unlike every other time, Torra actually let him without hissing or flailing. “Happy.”

“So this place is basically an opium den for cats then.”

“It doesn’t last long, let’s get it back before the high wears off.”

 

Madam Shijimi pulled Torra into a bone crushing hug after we received our payment, cooing happily as she placed kisses on the top of his head.

“Let’s just rub silver vine leaves on Naruto’s face next time we do this. It’ll be so much easier.” I whispered.

“Knowing that idiot’s luck he’ll attract every cat in Konoha except for Torra.” Sasuke snorted.

I stifled a laugh behind my hand as Torra tried to scratch his owners face. “You’re probably right. For all that he’s lucky, he’s equally unlucky.”

“So…” Sasuke shifted, placing his hands in his pockets. “Are you… doing anything later?”

“Later? I mean yeah, I’m going to the Yamanaka compound at 7. Ino and her dad invited me for dinner.”

“Oh. I didn’t know you and her…” The tips of his ears turned red as he glanced at his feet.

“We’re just friends, if that’s what you’re thinking. Trust me, I’d never be her boyfriend.” _Or any girl’s boyfriend._

“If you wanted to do something before then, there’s plenty of time.” _Why are you acting so weird, is this about yesterday?_

“Sasuke, you can just ask me. Nothing’s changed, we’re still friends. If you wanna hang out with me it’s no problem.” I reassured.

Sasuke was about to answer when he was interrupted by the desk chuunin grunting. “I would appreciate it if you would take this somewhere else.” He seethed.

“Ok, cool, cool, going.” I gave a nervous laugh, jabbing my thumbs over my shoulders as I backpedaled out of the room.

I let out a sigh of relief once we were in the hallway. I turned to Sasuke and grinned. “So what did you want to do?”

 

“ **Chidori!** ” Lightning slashed through spectral vines with ease for the third time that day, my rosé practically vaporizing from contact. Sasuke bent over, panting as hands rested against trembling knees. I jogged over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Do you wanna call it a day? You seem pretty worn out.” _My own chakra reserves have certainly taken a hit too._

He sprawled out on the ground, red eyes fading to black as he sucked in air. I sat down next to him, pulling my knees together, staring at the flowing water that cut through training ground three. We sat there for a long while, neither one of us saying anything, the wind blowing through my hair, sunlight glinting off the river. I glanced to my side, Sasuke’s eyes had closed, his breathing deeper and rhythmic. I gently laid my hand in his, pulling on his chakra. _Kindling wood, crackling flame, a solitary light in the night._ I drew back before his eyes could open.

“Mmm.”

“You dozed off there for a moment.”

He rose slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes to glance at the sky. “It’s getting late.”

“Do you want me to walk you home?” I offered.

He raised an eyebrow in askance. “Don’t you need to go to the Yamanaka?”

“I’m a shinobi, I can get there in no time at all.” I scoffed.

“And I’m a shinobi too, I can walk home by myself.”

“All right, if that’s what you want. I’ll see you tomorrow by the bridge?”

“Yeah.”

 

“So what are these called?” I was sitting at the dinner table, inspecting a very large sandwich that had been placed before me.

“They're this new fad at my dad’s work, apparently _everyone in T &I is eating them. _” Ino teased.

“They are called Wanpaku sando, and they are very convenient when pulling long shifts. They have everything you could need in them, meat, cheese, eggs, and fresh veggies. It’s filling and nutritious.”

“Ughhhhhh, you’re so lame dad!” Ino groaned.

“You won’t think I’m lame when you have one of these after training.”

_I don’t know if my mouth can open wide enough to eat this._


End file.
